Mikado
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2022
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 3
- Age
- 67
- Location
- St Clair NSW
- Members Ride
- 99 VS Commodore Ute 3.8
Hi all,
May I ask for your assistance? Might be a bit longwinded but history important. Picked up a 99 VS 3.8 Commodore Ute for my young fella's 1st car.. On picking the car up it started to run fairly warm ( 2 marks down from hot on the gauge ) & just feathered it home. Gauge fluctuated from hot to the middle of temp gauge. In the morning I checked the water, none was visible in the radiator. Filled up and ran again & checked, looked like mud. Drained radiator and brown crap came out, removed thermostat - all gunked up - so I flushed out for 30 min, put back together without thermostat - put a can of radiator cleaner in & ran for an hour or so & took for a run around the block. Temp gauge rose 4 points. before shutting down, checked all hoses & radiator cap for leaks - none detected. After cooling down pull hoses off - flush radiator & block via thermostat housing - heaps of crap again & flushed & reverse flush until clean. SCA did not have a new thermostat in stock, so buttoned up again and did a lap along M4. Without a thermostat, the temp gauge went up to 3/4 ( which I found strange ) Took it easy & got back home & left overnight. Removed plugs 1 at a time & replaced them. Wanted to check to see if any moisture in the cylinder. All dry. We took for a run yesterday & gauge rose to 3 marks from hot - without thermostat. Thermo fan activated when stationary. I really need some help, please. Could it be the temp gauge faulty or the coolant sensor faulty ???? When we checked again today, no sign of water in the radiator - none in the overflow tank ( Where did that water go ??? ) and importantly, no leaks in hoses or on the ground. Your advice & knowledge will be much appreciated.
May I ask for your assistance? Might be a bit longwinded but history important. Picked up a 99 VS 3.8 Commodore Ute for my young fella's 1st car.. On picking the car up it started to run fairly warm ( 2 marks down from hot on the gauge ) & just feathered it home. Gauge fluctuated from hot to the middle of temp gauge. In the morning I checked the water, none was visible in the radiator. Filled up and ran again & checked, looked like mud. Drained radiator and brown crap came out, removed thermostat - all gunked up - so I flushed out for 30 min, put back together without thermostat - put a can of radiator cleaner in & ran for an hour or so & took for a run around the block. Temp gauge rose 4 points. before shutting down, checked all hoses & radiator cap for leaks - none detected. After cooling down pull hoses off - flush radiator & block via thermostat housing - heaps of crap again & flushed & reverse flush until clean. SCA did not have a new thermostat in stock, so buttoned up again and did a lap along M4. Without a thermostat, the temp gauge went up to 3/4 ( which I found strange ) Took it easy & got back home & left overnight. Removed plugs 1 at a time & replaced them. Wanted to check to see if any moisture in the cylinder. All dry. We took for a run yesterday & gauge rose to 3 marks from hot - without thermostat. Thermo fan activated when stationary. I really need some help, please. Could it be the temp gauge faulty or the coolant sensor faulty ???? When we checked again today, no sign of water in the radiator - none in the overflow tank ( Where did that water go ??? ) and importantly, no leaks in hoses or on the ground. Your advice & knowledge will be much appreciated.