QuestionI have a 1996 Chrysler LHS. It has a 3.5 L engine. My problem is that after replacing the radiator and the thermostat the car is still overheating. I do not know what else to check or have done next. Before the car started overheating there was heat all the time now there is none.
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Hi Jessica,
What are all the symptoms you experience other than a high reading on the temp gauge and lack of heat? Are you loosing coolant without showing any obvious leaks, do you hear bubbling in the engine within a few minutes after starting it? Do you have excessive white smoke from the tail pipe when you first start, does the oil look normal on the dip stick? Do the fans come on when the gauge moves toward the H?
One possibility is that there is air trapped in the cooling system which needs to be bled out. If the shop that did the radiator/thermostat was unaware of that it might explain the problem. Look on the thermostat housing which is on the top front of the engine where you will see a nipple and fitting adjacent to it which when opened will allow the air if any to escape. Attach a 1/4" diameter hose of about 4' in length to the nipple, you would want to position it forward and over the grill and into a collection bottle.
Then open the fitting on the housing to open the bleed valve and start adding coolant to the radiator filler bottle until you get coolant coming out the end of the hose and into the collection bottle. Then squeeze the upper radiator hose to push out any air trapped in the hose as well. Then close the valve and fill the coolant bottle to the proper level using the collected overflow from the hose.
Then start the engine and seek if that has eliminated the problem.
Another possibility is that the jet tube to the thermostat housing is blocked which would require the removal of the thermostat and probing the tube with a stiff wire.
Any flow blockage or trapped air can cause overheating and lack of heat. Other possibiities are that the water pump impeller is loose on its shaft which requires replacing the water pump which is a big job on the 3.5, so I would not consider that as the cause until all else was exhausted.
It the overheating problem is solved and you still don't get heat then the heater core is possibly blocked which could be cured by backflushing with a garden hose attached to the outlet hose from the core.
But first lets get it to not overheat.
Roland
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