VZ overheating problem

[Uminavz]

so, i was driving today wouldn't have got more than 5k's away from home when all of a sudden my car overheated so i pulled over to let it cool down when i finally got home 30 min later i got the nrma guy out he said it was a thermostat so i took it to holden and they replaced it i picked my car up and on the drive home never guess what happend it over heated again so i got my mechanic mate to have a look and after all that all that was wrong was a dodgey collant cap.................DAMMIT

[Holdfast]

That sucks mate but atleast she's fixed.

Did you check the rest of the cooling system? maybe if the cap was buggered it may pay to check ya hoses etc.

[Uminavz]

yeah i wen't over everything she's all sweet now thank god apparently they had a recall on those coolant caps aswell

[Danoz]

How much did it cost you to get the thermostat replaced mate?

[Uminavz]

$700 from a holden dealer

[FstStig]

It Cost you $700 to have your Thermostat replaced.... Dude you got ripped big time. I could of done it for you for nothing. They are easy as to replace.

[me&myVZ]

Gosh thats a crazy price. I have had my VZ overheat sereral times, One of the times it was my coolant cap. So they must be faulty. Glad its fixed now!

[ashbox]

It Cost you $700 to have your Thermostat replaced.... Dude you got ripped big time. I could of done it for you for nothing. They are easy as to replace.

on a vz not so easy man, they're just above th trans at the back of the motor, most places drop the trans to make it easier

[FstStig]

Gees, you learn something new everyday. I wonder why they made it such a difficult spot though? Even ricer cars aren't that hard to get to. I think I'll stick with my Ecotech thanks

[Uminavz]

yeah might go back there and kick up a stink thanks for the heads up guys

[the_trademarc]

Yeah lay into em! The thermostat would have been fine, I've had to replace the coolant cap twice on mine (once under Warranty), they're like 20 bucks. Worst part of the VZ the cap.
But you get done hard dude, make sure you get your money back!

[ports]

i also had to replace the cap.

i didnt pay $700 for a thermostat either.

thats ridiculous

[Uminavz]

just got back from the dealer and went right off he ended up giving me $500 back and i got to keep the thermostat

[Calaber]

just got back from the dealer and went right off he ended up giving me $500 back and i got to keep the thermostat

For them to have refunded you $500 tells me they know they ripped you off. What sort of explanation did they give for charging that much in the first place and how did they explain the size of the refund? $700 was a bloody disgraceful amount to be charged and would have been worth taking up with the firm's owner if they hadn't agreed to a refund.

And I assume this was Central Coast Holden at West Gosford?

[Uminavz]

For them to have refunded you $500 tells me they know they ripped you off. What sort of explanation did they give for charging that much in the first place and how did they explain the size of the refund? $700 was a bloody disgraceful amount to be charged and would have been worth taking up with the firm's owner if they hadn't agreed to a refund.

And I assume this was Central Coast Holden at West Gosford?

yeah it was godford they just said it was a pricing misunderstanding

[123oriordan]

yeah it was godford they just said it was a pricing misunderstanding

B*s*a*ds Glad you caught them by the short and curlys. I hate main Dealers.

[Calaber]

yeah it was godford they just said it was a pricing misunderstanding

What a piss weak excuse. And of course, if you had not gone back to them, they would have come to you to offer the refund?

Bastards.

[VzVzVz]

From what I know, the alloytec engine did have a fault with the cooling system. The engine in my car was replaced after it cooked the first time around.

So your not the first, I can tell you that.

[strgas]

a vz thermostat is not cheap to replace and a trade price from holden just for the housing and the thermostat is $121 inc gaskets and o ring then you have to remove the trans to replace it .... for memory the holden time for this job was 4.2 hours ...... nowhere near as easy as a vt vr vs v6 engine ...

[mgadavidson]

Strgas is right, it's a stupid huge job. Just had mine done and took the mechanic over 6 real hours to do it (First one he had done) Worst thing, didn't fix it. So they did it again. New cap done. Radiator flushed. Temp gauge up and down like a yo-yo. Doing my head in.

[rayuki]

mines being doing this a bit lately as well and i had it checked by a few people who couldn't find problems with it. one said to replace the thermo but yeah was gonna charge some ridiculous amount so i said no.

now recently i get a "check powertrain" message coming up and from searching it seems it could be an O2 sensor problem, so maybe its an 02 sensor that is causing these problems :S

[jaisvz]

alloytec thermostat was supposed to last the life of the engine!
thats why they located it in an out of the way position, nice design flaw gm.

[moorey1967]

Read a few threads here in ref to VZ's overheating, I have replaced the coolant cap... no joy!, hoses seem a bit soft, no leaks anywhere, any ideas?

Cheers

[andyman]

did you change the coolent recently? if you did, did you bleed the coolant from the radiator?

[moorey1967]

No coolant change, car has done 130,000 klicks, I suppose I'm after a process of elimination cheapest to not so cheap! It was low on coolant so it has been topped up. runs ok while driving just heats up in traffic.