thermostat?

[bravo669]

my sportrak has jus had the head gasket done and was fine until yesterday.
the temp needle goes up then falls down rapidly to the halfway point (normal) then sits there until it rises again, then falls etc etc
it doesnt seem to be drawing any coolant thru the system so ive got the heater on full at the mo to try to keep the engine temp down, woirks for 20mins but i have a 30 min drive to work and then thw same back so have some probs...

i think its the trhermostat but any other opinions are welcome as i am just a country bumpkin who really has got no idea! :-k

cheers all.

[Pete]

 Had a similar problem with my motor. Chucked the stat, just in case, and the problem went away.
Ran without for most of the summer, now have new stat fitted, still problem free.
 Pete

[bravo669]

i got a new one from the autofactors today and myself (the very amateur mechanic) is going to have a crack at it!!

god help me! [-o<

[V8MoneyPit]

Did it come with a gasket? Don't be tempted by using gloop (sealant). It makes it a dreadful job the next time you want to do the job.

Be careful undoing the bolts. Some cars are prone to these snapping. Not sure if the Sportrack is one of them.

[bravo669]

Thanks everyone so far and never fear v8moneypit, i got the gasket, as i dont like the look of the blue gloopy stuff.

Right...
the good (ish) news is that the thermostats fine. i took it out and it was sparkly new, which i found odd. so i phoned the garage who did my head gasket the other week (connection?) and moaned and groaned (thermo wasnt written on the invoice).

bad news is its something else wrong which is beyond the limits of my limited mechanical knowledge. (it was brave of me to tackle the thermostat solo!!) hopefully its a blocked rad hose, maybe the rad needs flushing thru, at worst its a water pump etc...
i had to get it recovered to a garage for further enquiries.

on a different note im popping into a suzuki garage on the way home from college to have i a gander. :-$

Thoughts??

[TRACMAN]

Hi i have had a similar problem for the 4 years of owning my sporty efi, but OK using it locally but as soon as i get up above 50 mph roads the temp went off the scale, and to cut a long story short it turn out to be the thermostat only opening slightly. i have renewed it now (choice of 3 and i got the correct one in the end!) and fitted it and now its fine and OK flat out.
I also had to use the heater blower to cool the engine before i changed the thermostat.
I also have a used radiator and a good viscous fan coupling if you need one.
Hows your sporty doing now?

[bravo669]

well word has it that its fine now and after a road test its deemed repaired!! (we shall see) apparently it was a coolant leak from soemwhere, aklthough i never noticed any patches of anything underneath it anywhere. nightmare, im picking it up monday morning so we shall see whether i can get to work or not and ill keep you posted. :doh: