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VE commodore thermostat trouble

Anthonyc

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I've never had problems with overheating before, but the other day my 2008 omega overheated in a matter of a few ks on a mediocre temperature day and blew the top radiator hose. Easily fixed, but i was just wondering why this could have happened? all i did was reconnect the hose and refill the water and i havent had a problem since. Would it just be that the thermostat possibly jammed then unjammed? And if so does that mean i should replace it or shouldnt happen again?
 

Sean880

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1. If the thermo is stuck the engine will overheat because there is no coolant flow through the radiator but a thermo that then opens is not going to blow your top hose off if everything is tight and in good condition. It is only going to allow cooolant to begin flowing through the radiator.\

2. I suspect the engine overheated because the top hose blew off first and coolant poured out.

I would tend to suspect either :

A. The hose was progressively getting loose and finally blew off a soon as enough pressure built up in the system;

OR

B. The plastic neck on the radiator is damaged or has deteriorated in which event the hose will more than likely blow off again. If it is the original radiator in the car I would suspect the neck so I would remove the top hose and check the neck's condition carefully. (BTW, if the radiator hoses on the car are also still the originals they are just past their use by date for a 2008 and should be replaced.)

If you have just added water to the radiator you will have totally diluted the Dexcool in the radiator and it will no longer do its job of protecting against corrosion in your engine and cooling system. It should be flushed out and refilled with new Dexcool. If you buy the Dexcool concentrate dilute 50/50 with distilled or demineralised water. Valvoline make a ready to pour 5 litre pre- mixed Dexcool (Zerex) which is widely available and as it is pre mixed you can just pour it in. They also do a Dexcool concentrate. Look for the GM6277M compliance statement on the product (you will find it on the Valvoline Dexcool product).

Passenger Car | Valvoline.com.au
 

redvxr8clubby

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I've never had problems with overheating before, but the other day my 2008 omega overheated in a matter of a few ks on a mediocre temperature day and blew the top radiator hose. Easily fixed, but i was just wondering why this could have happened? all i did was reconnect the hose and refill the water and i havent had a problem since. Would it just be that the thermostat possibly jammed then unjammed? And if so does that mean i should replace it or shouldnt happen again?

I had this happen on my 09 SV6 a few months back. It was a pretty hot day, I was towing a 6 metre dual axle full size caravan. Pulled into a servo to top up fuel, then shortly after leaving the servo, the temperature warning came on, looked at the gauge - overheating. I stopped straight away and found the top hose blown off the radiator. Refitted hose, topped up coolant - all good no problem again. I assume there must have been high pressure to blow the hose off - definitely no damage to the neck of the radiator. I didn't notice any increase in temperature before the warning came on, I'm guessing it had a pressure build up while I stoped at the servo, and blew out after I restarted the car. I was told I had a water trail on leaving the servo driveway, but I don't know if there was any problem before I pulled into the servo. Anyway no problem for me now, I traded the V6 for an SS just before Christmas.
 

Anthonyc

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Yeah mine was the same, I didn't see the temperature slowly rising, but it was just weird that it happened so quickly, not even towing anything. But it hasn't happened since, I'll just have to get the dexcool back in it as Sean said.
 
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