98 Astro - What is my issue?

Ok...I am looking for some help/opinions. I thought that maybe I needed to replace the Thermostat in my van. I lost heat one day and then two days later the temp gauge was up into the red...I turned heater on (it magically started to work) this brought temp gauge down to bout 200. I replaced the thermostat but i still have no heat and my gauge stays steady at about 215.

Any thoughts on any of this?
Thanks!

Could be thermostst, but could be coolant level, collapsed hose as well.
with summer comming it's time to check out the whole cooling system, I'm going over mine.

Which Hose would you be referring to? The top Radiator hose that goes to thermostat? Thanks for the reply by the way!

The lower hose. If the spring fails the lower hose will collapse when the van is at speed causing the overheating.

Thanks to all for responding! It is appreciated. It was the coolant level...course before I looked at the simplest item to check I replaced the thermostat. Oh well, it was good to do that - get one under my belt!

Thanks again!

Thanks to all for responding! It is appreciated. It was the coolant level...course before I looked at the simplest item to check I replaced the thermostat. Oh well, it was good to do that - get one under my belt!

Thanks again!

Keep a eye on that coolant level.
If you are losing cooland better find out why.:grinyes: :lol:
MT