QuestionHi Roland,there's a few things that you wanted me to check and let you know. Yes there's some white smoke when it 1st starts but it disappears quickly,then again; it is only in the teens for a temp. I haven't really noticed any "foamy" type oil, as for the bubbling and loss of coolant...once the car has been running for approx.3-5 min. the coolant does boil over into the overflow tank,which in turn gets too full and runs out the overflows' spout. Can you please tell me,if you can; how is it that I got warm to hot air right after changing the thermostat?? But,shortly after on that same day; the temp guage went up to "H" and all I got was ice cold air. The old thermostat by the way was stuck with the spring compressed when I took it out. As for the engine it's a 1990 LeBaron conv. 2.5L non-turbo 4cyl. As for the mileage, the odometer was frozen since I bought it 2yrs ago and my best guess on it would have to be somewhere at 235k to 265k miles. As much as I hate to hear it, if it turns out to be a head gasket issue that's big $$$ isn't it??? And is it possible for the DIY selfer to do??? My only income is from disability and I can't do a whole lot to get it fixed. Well...hope this info helps us both. BY THE WAY..HOW DO I GO ABOUT NOMINATING YOU FOR EXPERT OF THE MONTH???
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Hi Scott,
A ha! Now that you tell me you have the 2.5L engine I have an idea for you. That engine block has a box which holds the thermostat as you already know. But you may not know that you have to refill the system after you have drained it down in a particular way. You will notice that the box has a plug on the top that is removed with an 8mm Allen wrench. So starting with enough coolant drained so as to get the level in the system down below the box (a couple of quarts from the radiator drain plug collected for reuse), then you remove the plug and then start to refill it via the radiator opening until the level of coolant raises to fill the box and bring the level right up to the very top of the opening. Then you lube the threads on the plug with a little grease/oil and put it back in. Then you fill the radiator to about an inch below the opening, put on the radiator cap. Then add coolant to the overflow bottle to the 'cold' line. Then start it up and see how she runs.
If you didn't do that you have air trapped in the box such that thermostat won't open properly and coolant can't flow. I'll keep my fingers crossed that everything is alright with the balance of the system.
I did the head gasket on my 2.5 quite successfully if it needs to be done and I can send you the step-by=step instructions.
Roland
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HISTORY
HI, I have a 1990 lebaron conv that just suddenly stop blowing ANY warm air,let alone hot. The temp. guage instantly within seconds shot up to "H" and all that came from the vents was ice cold air. I changed the thermostat and did get hot air for a few minutes, temp guage stayed in normal range. Unfortunately, that only lasted while the car was running. Later that same day, I went to run an errand and I'm back to square one...temp all the way up and ice cold air again; even after letting it run for about 20 min. or so. There is no wet floor on the passenger side or any antifreeze "smog" filling up the car, which is usually sure signs of a heater core problem. Totally lost at this point, any ideas??? PLEASE HELP!!!!
Answer: Hi Scott,
With a temp gauge shooting up to H I would suspect that you are loosing coolant into the compression chambers due to a head gasket leak. Check for whether the oil is foamy or whether you get execessive white smoke out the tail pipe when you first start the engine from cold. If so, that would be symptomatic of such a leak. Also, if you hear bubbling early after you start, coming from the engine, that is another sign or early pressurization of the radiator(remove radiator cap after a minute or so of idling carefully). It should not be pressurized that quickly. Have you also run out of coolant, perhaps?
Until you get the engine cooling system up to snuff you won't get any water circulating to the heater core. Let me know what you learn and also tell me which engine you have.
Roland
