Diagnosis Needed Please...

[SVL77]

My 2003 Cobra...rarely drive it these days, took it our for spin Saturday and after about 5 minutes of normal driving I noticed the temperature gage nearly pegged on red. I let her cool down overnight then started her up again Sunday...same result (within 5 minutes temp gage was pegged red).

The car sat undriven for about 30 days before this weekend, was fine the last time I drove it. No leaks or visible issues.

Any ideas on what could cause this sudden overheat condition?

11/14/11 Update...RESOLVED. The t-stat was bad and the t-stat housing had a strange crack/chip in it right around the t-stat seal. A new t-stat and housing ($23 from Rockauto) and a few hours of labor and she is back to healthy. Posting the resolution so that others with the same issue can benefit. Thanks again to all of you that chimed in with your thoughts!

Thanks,

Scott

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[Zack]

Air in the system, bad cooling fan, stuck closed thermostat.

 

[01bluesnake]

Is the fan coming on?

 

[deviantlx]

thermostat.

 

[Zack]

thermostat.

That is least likely to fail out of all things mentioned

 

[deviantlx]

That is least likely to fail out of all things mentioned

least doesnt mean impossible. i didn't even see you mentioned it already as i didn't read through the thread.

 

[Flyn]

Scott, the fan is easy to check by watching while engine warms up. Thermostat is cheap and easy to replace. Antifreeze fill point is along the coolant tube next to the blower, not the reservoir. Just mentioning these in case you aren't familiar with them. You can maybe find the problem checking the fan and at least eliminate it from the issues. Filling with antifreeze is a pain but not difficult if you follow the instructions posted on the forums. If neither of these work, changing the thermostat isn't hard. Time to bond with your car again.

 

[SVL77]

Thanks for everyone's input.

I'll check out the fan and if needed will take it to a local shop for a t-stat and coolant flush/fill. I'll be sure to give them info that I have seen on the boards regarding how to do it right on a Cobra. (Would love to do it myself...just don't have the time as I currently spend all day researching ways to defeat Cliff in FF.)

Scott

 

[SVL77]

Resolved - see edit.

 

[Zack]

Congrats and I stand corrected!

 

[Flyn]

Congrats on the fix. Adding the housing into the problem mix made it more complex.