put paperclip into the sensor to have it on when my car is ON or ignition..

but it cools it but now sometimes when i drive it the temperature needle goes to the middle, or a little past, then goes back down right away...weird

i just recently changed my coolant/thermostat 3 weeks ago..(prestone coolant and autozone thermostat..)

possibly thermostat went bad...(hope not) or is it possible to paperclip the sensor the wrong way? i heard this can happen and blow the opposite way.. but it doesnt make sense since i tried putting it in another way and the fan didn't even turn on at all..

 

Your radiator fan is possibly bad.

 

check the thermoswitch

 

Did you bleed the cooling system?

What prompted you to jump the fan switch in the first place?

---------------------------------------------------

Bleeding the cooling system may take 20-30 minutes:

1) Park the car on an inclined driveway with the front end higher than the rear.

2) Push the dash heater lever/**** to MAX heat.

3) Follow the directions in the diagram below

 

when you drive your temp needle should be in the middle. always.

^^that before we go farther.(rons post)

 

An air bubble in the cooling system could prevent proper coolant flow and overheating.

 

can i remove air bubbles by running the car while the cap is on? and yes i bled the coolant system.. and if it only moves in the middle and stays a little before the middle then i'm fine. probably just need a new thermo housing sensor?

 

Not tight but loose -- using the procedure I posted.

Normal engine temp is below the middle mark. The needle should never point at the middle mark or be higher. If it does, it's overheating.

 

i know thats why i wanted to make sure he did the bleeding you posted before just throwing all kinds of ideas at him.

could always try that. its not expensive(18 bucks i think) and only takes a half hour.

 

 

okay so after the day i paperclipped it, the temperature is always under the middle now. so that's good. but this morning good thing i checked my coolant..the reservoir was almost empty! (the day before it was almost to max) i refilled it up later on drove home after school and now it's still on max. weird..

my upper hose is leaking a little bit. it's not obvious when i turn on the car only after driving for a while, since i popped the hood and can see a little coolant puddle right above the fan and coolant that was blown onto the hoses..my friend told me to check if the oil was milky or white smoke coming out then it's the headgasket(since i told him about missing alot of coolant)...but i checked both and none of what he said so i'm pretty sure it's not the headgasket cause those symptoms would be showing correct?

could the hoses be bad? or my ebay radiator cracked? *SORRY ALSO Forgot to add the radiator was half empty too this morning weird..

 

you have combustion chamber gasses entering your cooling system causing to much pressure and evacuating it through the overflow bottle making that puddle on the fan shroud .once cooled down it will suck in the rest of the coolant in. most likely a headgasket or possible cracked block or head.

 

The seam on the top of the radiator is a common location for leak, so you may need to replace it. If so, bleed the cooling system afterward and then reconnect the fan switch on thermostat housing to see whether it now works properly.

 

not a headgasket, or i would be having milky oil or white smoke, which i don't and i saw a bunch of coolant underneath near the fan so i'm pretty sure it's my radiator which probably cracked+the upper hose*which doesnt fit snug like it should..

just going to go legit and get JHP hoses and probably an aftermarket radiator.