Thermostat

[Blacksvz]

Hi, new member thanks for reading.

Bear in mind my mechanical knowledge isnt all that flash. And i have been through the threads but cant really see anything that applies to this situation.

I drive a 2006 svz sedan and yesterday was towing a trailer. As i reversed it, (i admittedly forgot to close the latch which disables the inertia braking, so i was effectively pushing the trailer back with the brakes on) after a couple of minutes the engine temp gauge sky rocketed, the check engine light came on, as did the check power train warning.

After having it looked at, the mechanic diagnosed it (with the diag tool) as a stuffed thermostat, which i am told is at the rear of the engine and will be quite costly, due to the removal of the gearbox.

Can anyone confirm or dispute this? And would a couple of minutes of overloading really do that much damage or was it caused by something else?

Any light on the matter would be a huge help

Cheers.

 

[_R_J_K_]

Did you drive it to the mechanic?

 

[kiwicon]

read this: save yourself cash..

http://forums.justcommodores.com.au...06/154037-sv6-3-6-thermostat-replacement.html

 

[Blacksvz]

Did you drive it to the mechanic?

Yes i did. For what its worth i did it first thing this morning when the engine was cold and got it there before it had a chance to overheat.

 

[_R_J_K_]

Yes i did. For what its worth i did it first thing this morning when the engine was cold and got it there before it had a chance to overheat.

How far was it? You would have known in minutes if overheating was an issue.

 

[Blacksvz]

About 5 min in light traffic.

The warning came yesterday so i immediately parked it. Then this morning i took it down to the mechanic. The temp was fine as i drove it but when the guy moved the car into his shed the gauge maxed out.

His diag tool showed a thermostat fault and the hose out from underneath the radiator was stone cold.

On a side note, the car was serviced the other day, anything they couldve done??

 

[99notout]

About 5 min in light traffic.

The warning came yesterday so i immediately parked it. Then this morning i took it down to the mechanic. The temp was fine as i drove it but when the guy moved the car into his shed the gauge maxed out.

His diag tool showed a thermostat fault and the hose out from underneath the radiator was stone cold.

On a side note, the car was serviced the other day, anything they couldve done??

Mate, I don't know of any scan tool that can tell you that the thermostat is faulty, I know that my Tech2 can't. Make sure you trust this mechanic mate, it is easy to baffle a client with bullsh1t.

If they did a full service with replaced coolant, perhaps they didn't correctly bleed the system?

 

[Blacksvz]

Mate, I don't know of any scan tool that can tell you that the thermostat is faulty, I know that my Tech2 can't. Make sure you trust this mechanic mate, it is easy to baffle a client with bullsh1t.

If they did a full service with replaced coolant, perhaps they didn't correctly bleed the system?

Interesting you say that. Ill have to ring him and ask what it actually said.

All the invoice said was coolant checked level and concentration.

No mention of coolant on the materials list.

 

[99notout]

Interesting you say that. Ill have to ring him and ask what it actually said.

All the invoice said was coolant checked level and concentration.

No mention of coolant on the materials list.

Ask him what fault code was reported that indicated a faulty thermostat, and then let us know what fault code he reported mate! I'm not saying your thermostat isn't faulty, but I can't see how he can claim his scan tool told him it was. It is a mechanical part with no ability to report a fault code. If the inlet hose was stone cold, then it could be a thermostat, a water pump or a nearly empty system, but odd to tell you his scan tool detected it!

 

[Sabbath']

I think you need to get yourself a better mechanic.

You need to find out what the code was that caused the engine light to come on. It will not be because of the thermostat that the light came on.