'04 Town & Country...cooling issue

[mythx]

A little background. This '04 town and country has a slow leak (appears to be in top of radiator). Girlfriend has been topping off coolant (with "safe for all colors" stuff). The strange thing is, the only symptom ever experienced is the heater not getting warm (especially at idle). Engine temp is always spot on.

This last time that the coolant was topped off however, seems to have caused something odd. We topped off after allowing van to sit for about 3 hours, then headed home. Heater was working fine, but after about 15 minutes on freeway, heater started blowing cold air. Looked at temp guage, and it was almost to lowest mark. I pulled off freeway expecting an empty radiator, but instead, radiator was still full of lukewarm coolant. No excess pressure in either hose, engine is obviously warm, but not hot.

I'm going to replace thermostat this morning, stupid HOA won't let me do it here, so I have to find me a parking lot somewhere. Wanted to see if there are other things I should be checking as well.

Thanks

Jason

[mythx]

Alright, replaced thermostat, problem solved.

Originally Posted by mythx

A little background. This '04 town and country has a slow leak (appears to be in top of radiator). Girlfriend has been topping off coolant (with "safe for all colors" stuff). The strange thing is, the only symptom ever experienced is the heater not getting warm (especially at idle). Engine temp is always spot on.

This last time that the coolant was topped off however, seems to have caused something odd. We topped off after allowing van to sit for about 3 hours, then headed home. Heater was working fine, but after about 15 minutes on freeway, heater started blowing cold air. Looked at temp guage, and it was almost to lowest mark. I pulled off freeway expecting an empty radiator, but instead, radiator was still full of lukewarm coolant. No excess pressure in either hose, engine is obviously warm, but not hot.

I'm going to replace thermostat this morning, stupid HOA won't let me do it here, so I have to find me a parking lot somewhere. Wanted to see if there are other things I should be checking as well.

Thanks

Jason

[mishalah]

Originally Posted by mythx

Alright, replaced thermostat, problem solved.

Good. And, next time tell the HOA to shove it if they say anything. A t-stat replacement isn't like tearing down an engine and leaving it for days. I have the same problem with the HOA nazis lately here in Evergreen (Summerlin). Not a word for 8 years, and all of a sudden it's daily drive-bys, picture taking, letters, warnings, and now they don't like my tiny "chocks" I place on my sloped driveway to mark spaces to park my cars.

Sorry, just venting. Glad your t-stat replacement worked. Do you still have the leak at the top of the radiator, though? If it is coming from the radiator it will only get worse. I had mine replaced a few years ago, then both the hoses, etc. They all need replacing at some point (although mine is a '96 with 140K on it).