another overheater, and yes I already used search

[sideshowstunna]

ok guys, here's one for you to help me confirm, I'm suspecting degas bottle from what came up in my search, but figured I'd ask again to be sure. I have an '01 v8, about 118k on her.

the short and not so sweet of it is as follows: everytime I start the car cold, it warms up to normal temp (the center line on the gauge) and then the temp keeps going up. I shut the engine off and pull over right before the temp gauge hits the 3/4 mark (don't wanna break anything now, do I?) pop the hood, crack the cap off the degas bottle, and listen to it fart away. As soon as it finishes farting, all is well, and I have no further problems.

I changed the t-stat last Saturday and the top hose is still hot and the bottom one cold when this happens (possible faulty part from kragen? maybe, but its my 2nd one in 6 months) I have no detectable coolant leaks anywhere, and its as green as can be (NO signs of contamination)

I really appreciate your help on this one guys, and hopefully its something simple and not too expensive just like every other repair on this car (what sarcasm? lol) as it seems as of late I'm trying to find any excuse to trade this sum bich in.

 

[joegr]

It could be that you have a big air bubble in there. It could be there because of a cracked degas bottle (or if the metal pipe inside came lose), or it could be something else.
If you bleed the cooling system, does that get rid of the problem for at least the first trip after bleeding? If not, then you have something more serious going on.
Can you get hot air from the heater?
How much coolant have you had to add.
Are you sure that you put the thermostat together correctly?
As a test, have you tried it without the thermostat installed?

Your symptoms as related so far, sound more like a stuck closed thermostat or a water pump with an impeller that has fallen off.

 

[cammerfe]

Agreed regarding the thermostat, but since he says, '...no further problems.', I wouldn't think it the impeller loose. And since he doesn't tell us how many times he's 'burped' the degas bottle, I wouldn't rule out that he still has a bubble.
KS

 

[g4rgoyle]

Well i would say if one hose is hot and other is cold there is still air in the system. And one other note if there isn't much heat then there is air still in the system.

 

[tireman]

try this

Degas bottle cracked or cap not holding pressure. I would replace the degas bottle or at least pull it out and look from the fine cracks, you will see them. Mine never showed a leak either, but it had lots of cracks in the bottle. I never needed a new cap. try here for new bottle www.carpartsdiscount.com $69
rebleed and try again. look for other leaks around plastic joints in coolant hoses.

 

[sideshowstunna]

I have to burp the bottle every time I start the car cold, I haven't had to add any coolant since I topped off after the t-stat change. It almost feels like a stuck t-stat, but It's my 2nd brand new one in less than six months. maybe I was barking up the wrong tree changing it again in the first place? also, tireman, are you suggesting that I may very well have a cracked bottle even if I'm not losing any coolant? If so, I'm just going to go ahead and change it and hope that's it, since I'm sure that's the next cheapest thing I can do. Either way, I forsee a late model mustang gt in my near future. I've had a blast with the LS, but I've put 60k hard miles on her, and I need something with a more friendly performance aftermarket. I just want to get the bugs out of this car so I can sell it at a decent price (this issue and a clockspring).

 

[joegr]

I have to burp the bottle every time I start the car cold, I haven't had to add any coolant since I topped off after the t-stat change. It almost feels like a stuck t-stat, but It's my 2nd brand new one in less than six months. maybe I was barking up the wrong tree changing it again in the first place? also, tireman, are you suggesting that I may very well have a cracked bottle even if I'm not losing any coolant? If so, I'm just going to go ahead and change it and hope that's it, since I'm sure that's the next cheapest thing I can do. Either way, I forsee a late model mustang gt in my near future. I've had a blast with the LS, but I've put 60k hard miles on her, and I need something with a more friendly performance aftermarket. I just want to get the bugs out of this car so I can sell it at a decent price (this issue and a clockspring).

To answer for tireman, yes you can have a cracked degas bottle without having a detectable loss of coolant. It's also possible that the metal tube inside the bottle has come lose. If so, that would let air back into the cooling system after every cool down.