Age is one consideration when it comes to determining whether your vehicle has a bad thermostat. The average lifespan of a car thermostat is a decade. If your vehicle is older than 10 years, the thermostat isn’t going to last much longer most likely. Automobile Diagnostics can help. We’d be happy to inspect your thermostat and test it to see if it is still working. If it isn’t, we can replace the unit to restore your cooling system’s cooling capabilities. Let’s talk more in this blog post about the ways you can tell that your car’s thermostat has died.
Leaking Coolant
If you notice the other two symptoms listed below, pop the hood and inspect your thermostat to see if it appears that it is leaking. The thermostat opens up to release coolant to be circulated through the engine by the water pump when the engine starts to get too hot. It closes once the coolant has been released. If it gets stuck closed, the coolant can start to leak out of the thermostat housing. When this happens, you’ll see a bunch of gunk around the housing that is sticky like a gel. In severe cases, the thermostat may leak enough coolant that you have spots on your garage floor.
Erratic Temperature Changes
A malfunctioning thermostat can directly affect your engine’s temperature. If it is an opening and closing at the right times, your engine’s temperature will fluctuate up and down from being too hot to cold. This can affect how well your engine performs. It can also damage the engine when it is running too hot. Your car’s temperature gauge on the dashboard should rise steadily as the engine begins to warm up. It should stay in the normal position no matter how far you drive as long as you have a healthy thermostat and cooling system keeping the engine cool. A malfunctioning thermostat can change the engine temperatures drastically between cold and hot.
Overheating Engine
The most common sign that your vehicle’s thermostat has died is an overheating engine. This is because the thermostat has not opened up to release the coolant so it can be circulated into the engine. When the thermostat doesn’t open, it takes less than 15 minutes for your engine to overheat. Unfortunately, if you continue to drive your car, truck, or utility vehicle, you will end up damaging the engine.
Don’t take chances. Call Automobile Diagnostics in Columbia, IN, at the first sign of thermostat trouble.
