Chevrolet Repair: coolling sys., rust stains, radiator cap

Question
-the  thermostat   was  just  gone  dont  know  i will  replace  but  wouldnt   it run coulder  tha  nom.  any  other  pos.  for  it to get hot .------------------------
Followup To
Question -
chevy lum.   getting  hot.     opend  found  no   thearmo.   please  tell me  other  possiablies its  a 1995   radia.   looks  good   what is  heater  core.       water  pump was  not leaking   no rust  stains  on  radiator.   
Answer -
The FIRST thing you need to do is put the CORRECT HEAT RANGE thermostat back into the cooling system.

Today's electronic vehicles MUST have a thermostat installed in then to run correctly.

WHY was the thermostat removed in the first place ?.'


Answer
The thermostat is a vital component du to the electronics of the vehicle and will cause all sorts of driveability problems as it drives the sensors NUTS when it is NOT in there.

Another possibility is that the thermostat was reoved because the engine kept severly overheating due to a restriction in the radiator or you have a small leak in one of the head gaskets.

Usually the problem is that the middle and lower portions of the radiator are plugged up with debris and the coolant is only flowing thru the top portions of the cooling chambers of the radiator.

just because you can physicall see the coolant flowing thru the top portion of the radiator chambers when you have the radiator cap OFF, What you can't see is if the middle and lower chambers are flowing coolant.

Personally I would replace the radiator with a BRAND NEW one since it is a 10 yaer old radiator.

Another reason that people remove the thermostat is that there may be a leak in one of the head gaskets or in the heater core and when the cooling system pressure builds up to it's normal pressure, the head gasket starts to leak and or the heater core starts to leak.

This is a VERY OLD trick that people do when they do not want to fix the problem. Unfortunately you develop severe driveablity problems when the thermostat is removed on a computerized vehicle.


let me know AFTER you install a new thermostat of the CORRECT HEAT RANGE for your particular vehicle and engine size.