Well Veeky Forums...

i have no idea man

If it still overheats, what should I look at next? I really don't want to be stuck here longer than I have to

T stat looks pretty stuck, could always boil some water and test it.

pressure check the system and make sure there isn't anything obstructing airflow through the radiator.

Or inside the radiator

Make sure your radiator fans are in working order.

I've already got some radiator flush that I plan on running through it. Shouldn't be much stuff besides bugs in the fins, but I'll give it a good cleaning

Replace the thermostat and refill the coolant OP, check the rad fan then pray you did not just pop the head gasket. If its still overheating with no apparent cause suspect the head gasket and scrap it imo.

Fan is good
I didn't see coolant in the oil, and it was only at the top of the Guage for about 2 seconds as I pulled over. If it is bad, how far can I drive it?

I meant after you put it together. next time you're stuck in that situation just remove the tstat and put it back together for a side of the road nig-rig.

its prob good now, just let it idle in front of your hotel room a while to see if it gets hot.

good luck user I hate breakdowns

if you've done the head gasket, you will probably get about 3 or 4 miles before the head totally warps and the engine dies completely.

Put a rubber glove tight over the rad cap when it is idling and see does the glove inflate......that would mean combustion gas in the coolant system, and that you are now hitch hiking.

Well shit. If that's the case, I'm fucked. I really doubt that autozone would have one in Stock here, and then I'd have to take the bus back when I get off leave

have what? A rubber glove?

If the head gasket has failed, you ain't repairing that shit at the side of the road.

It's a big job, requiring many tools, and lots of money.

try the glove or a condom or something and see if it inflates.

If it is the head gasket, it will probably cost more that the car is worth in labor to repair it assuming you don't do it yourself.

There should also be bubbling in the overflow tank if it's leaking exhaust into the coolant. My subaru was fine with that symptom for a few months though before I could replace its headgaskets. The heads weren't warped later, but I still got them resurfaced. No milkshake, so I just poured the overflow tank back into the radiator every 15 miles or so since it would push coolant into it and not suck it back in after it's turned off and overflow the tank.

Fuck, I'd have to remove the timing belt to get to it. So that's removing left wheel, caliper, rotor, inner fender, and torque arm. No fucking way I can do that in a parking lot. I do have a few gloves scattered around, I can only hope for good news

dude, you would have to remove the whole top half of the engine to get to it.

And if it's warped, you will need to have the head machined flat again.

You have no chance of doing it in a parking lot.

I realize that now. Sorry, I'm tired as fuck and just want to go home

Remove the thermostat, reinstall the housing. Fill up the cooling system, put the heater on full, and let it idle. Check to see that the cooling fan engages.

Take it for a drive, see if it continues to overheat.

Good luck.

Head gasket isn't leaking, and temp is staying in the middle during the flush

>pt cruiser
It's the head gasket, guaranteed.
They are known to fail, and it shows all the symptoms.

Have you pressure tested the radiator cap? it might just be that. Even when a system overheats, shouldn't it still not leak out the cap? Just out the overflow?

I don't know enough about the cooling system to say

>head gasket got BTFO
RIP OP

>mfw some poorfags headgasket fails because he was too dumb to save up money for a proper car

>muh I can't do a headgasket in a parking lot

I did one on my Ram in the fucking dark in about 3 hours, including replacing a bent valve.

I'm sure a ff piece of shit that literally points the head straight out the hood is ten times easier.

why the fuck would you do a head gasket in the dark

Did you use any sealant?

I had my phone as a flashlight.
Did it after work.

Head gaskets don't use sealant, and I didn't have to pull off the front of the engine because git good

'mirin that hand work especially using a phone flashlight that you cant put in your mouth and have to use your hand

Lucky you didn't have to lay sealant in the dark though, thats a bitch

>not having the head resurfaced
Enjoy redoing it later because the head was warped and didn't seat properly, fucking the new gasket prematurely.

Op here. Managed to get it home

This is bullshit OP died when his PT snoozer exploded I saw it on the news

Funny thing is fire department came by asking if it was on fire, then a state trooper said people thought I was dead when I was pulling the inner fender to look at the water pump

I had that exact year and trim
They are known for having shitty tstats
Be careful when buying one from some shitty vatozone, because they can't tell the difference between a tstat for a 2.0 Neon or a 2.4T PT

I got an aftermarket 180 degree one because the one in sock was too big and wasn't off center like the one I pulled out. It worked good enough to get me home

Except that it's a GT Cruiser with the 2.4 turbo and not a standard 2.4, turn is didn't have head gasket issues they had tstat issues

AutoZone? Uhhh, get a Napa one as soon as you can, I replaced 2-3 of them with the first being OEM and second being AutoZone, once I put the NAPA one in I didn't have an issue anymore

Your fault for buying a PT cruiser, and then neglecting it.

You overpaid.

Noted. Any specific brands?

Just the NAPA brand, and they'll have the correct one and it won't stick closed

I replaced a seized turbo, clogged cat, damaged valve cover gasket, bad camshaft position sensor, a couple oil and coolant lines, and replaced a cracked windshield. The maintenance schedule doesn't go to 186000 miles, how was I supposed to know how long the thermostat lasts?
Cool. I appreciate the advice

But don't forget to flush the radiator and burp the coolant, can't hurt to do when replacing the thermostat

I put in flush compound and water before I drove, I'm going to leave it a bit longer. Coolant goes in green, out brown. It probably needs a new radiator before I head back next week

Depends, is it the original radiator? They use plastic cores and are prone to splitting apart if there's too much pressure and are a bitch to replace
If it ain't leaking, just flush it some more and you should be good

Then sell it and buy literally anything else. Old civics and corollas are poverty spec but still offer a solid car, so money isn't a good excuse.

It's okay though, we all make mistakes. Are you sure the head gasket is good?

>sell a GT Cruiser
>for a civic/Corolla

Nigger, his PT has the SRT-4 engine, who cares if it's a PT, stop projecting fag

Heads only warp if they overheat

>car overheated 80 miles from the finish of a 380 mile trip
Then if stuck, the thermostat would be stuck open. It's the head gasket or water pump.

>I have no clue what I'm talking about

Just shut up, he's already fixed it

lol

>2003 pt cruiser gt,
There's the problem.

Just gut the thermostat and replace when you get home, how fucking retarded are you?