Thermostat

[Khadgar]

If my thermostat is bad, will my heater core still get warm coolant? Right now my heat doesnt work and the car overheats.

[Kracka]

Sounds like frozen coolant.

[dsm95gsxer]

Sounds like frozen coolant.

Or the water pump is dead, but this time of year I'd bet your coolant mixture wasn't up to par. I've done it before and it's not a fun situation. I'm not sure how bad mine froze but it sure overheated quick.

[A//// Guy]

If your thermostat is stuck open or opens even though your at operating temp, then your engine will never get warm enough to give you heat. Very common problem but you should not be overheating... so maybe you did freeze your system.

[Khadgar]

I would think if the coolant was frozen it would thaw out after some driving?

[A//// Guy]

It would take quite a long time for your whole heater core and tubing to thaw out. I would get it to a warm garage and make sure.

[Khadgar]

ok, i had to stop and go, took me over an hour to make it home, more like an hour and a half =/

[john]

Thermostat could be stuck in the closed position??? Frozen coolant is not as big of a problem as you guys make it. Unitl this weekend, I have been freezing water in the system all winter. I finally added some coolant to the mix this weekend. Upon startup, the engine is cold and does not need coolant. When the engine warms up and needs it, it is usually thawed out (engine heat). If you want proof, come over to Hopkins and I can show you. My laser wasn't driven thursday and friday (2 coldest days in MN). I took it in the garage (non-heated) Saturday and started it and let it run at idle. I watched the gauge and the engine to make sure it didn't overheat. I added some coolant to the frozen water and the car did not even come close to overheating. Maybe it only reached temps of 15 below 0 in Hopkins huh??? The car warmed up and no problems with overheating were discovered. You can take a look and determine weather the coolant is frozen though. Feel the hoses and check the overflow. Have you replaced the thermostat before?

[john]

Sounds like frozen coolant.

I see it as:
Fozen coolant=frozen core=no heat in the car as the core is frozen

[JET]

You were an exception, not the rule, John. Frozen coolant is a bitch. If it gets frozen hard it will take quite a bit of work to get it to thaw out. If it freezes near the T-stat housing all the way up, it takes a lot of time to thaw out. We just had another thread on this, check out the procedure that worked for him to thaw out his car.