97 Villager Overheating...Themostat???

[tmnick]

Hi, all. Just joined the community because I just bought a 97 villager with 137K miles. I'm going back to the no payment world for a while. Anyway my question is yesterday I am driving the van and it began to overheat. It pegged out hot but then began to cool down a little. My thought is to replace the thermostate. Anyone have other thoughts...thanks in advance!
Tony

[tempfixit]

Was the coolant at proper level before this happened???? If the coolant resorvoir was empty the system may have gotten air in it causing the problem. When and if you do change thermostat most say to get the factory thermostat from either Ford or Nissan they are heavier built and some people have had trouble with aftermarket. The thermostat could very well be the original one and sticking.

Also make sure there are not any hoses leaking, there are a number of hoses behind the plenium.

[tmnick]

Yeah, coolant was fine. Went to put the thermostat in and holy cow! That thing is tucked away like no other thermostat I have ever seen. After fighting with it for about an hour I still had one bolt left that was even deeper. I gave up and took it to a radiator guy that I trust. Pretty sad because now I'm gonna pay $150 for something that I normally do myself for $20. I will post what they find. Thanks

[tempfixit]

Seems to me that it is easiest to to the work from the bottom. Take wheel and fender shield off. That is why people say to change thermostat when doing T?B or water pump on these vehicles.

[tmnick]

That is a pretty good piece of info. I have since found out that it's the head gasket. Before going through the expense of having that replaced I am have begun the process us trying a Block/Gasket sealer. I have had a few mechanics tell me that it has actually worked for them. I am sceptical but optomistic. I will post the results. Thanks again for the input.

[tempfixit]

Sorry to hear the head gasket is the problem. How did they determine the problem??(Not second guessing your mechanic, just curious as these engine rarely have a head gasket problem.) Hope the sealant works for you.

[tmnick]

Well...they couldn't get it to overheat so they did a pressure test using the chemical die and said that it changed colors. Today will be the test for the motor. Yesterday was the final step in the sealant process. It ran in the back yard for and hour with not signs of overheating at all. Had to drain and leave radiator open for 24 hour. I will flush system and fill with coolant today. Keep your fingers crossed...