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Engine I'm completely lost

  • Thread starter Thread starter dcombs811
  • Start date Start date Feb 10, 2022
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dcombs811

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Feb 10, 2022
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Feb 10, 2022
#1
  • Feb 10, 2022
  • #1
ok, well to make a long story short, i bought a 2003 V6 (3.8L) a little over 2 years ago. everythong was running fine for a while and then i ran into an overheating issue. so a couple days, a thermostat, water pump, radiator, and heater core later the car no longer overheats, but that has somehow created a whole new problem. when the car run (without heat or A/C on) the engine WILL get up to temp, but as soon as i turn the heat on, the engine temp will drop back to running cold (it will stay at temp when the A/C is running). i have tried NUMEROUS times to bleed the air from the system, thinking that is what was causing the problem, but that doesnt seem to be the case. i have been fighting with this for the better part of a year, and having this car as my daily in central New York.....its not a fun thing to deal with in the middle of winter. if someone can help me figure out what and where the problem is, that would be GREATLY appriciated!!!
 

Noobz347

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  • Feb 10, 2022
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It sounds to me like your new t-stat is stuck wide open.
 
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dcombs811

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Noobz347 said:
It sounds to me like your new t-stat is stuck wide open.
Click to expand...
That's probably going to be my next option....did a little poking around earlier, and found out that I'm throwing a P0128 code, along with 3 other emissions/O2 sensor codes. And the 0128 which comes back to the coolant temperature sensor not allowing it to enter closed loop mode. (the temp sensor is the only thing I didn't change) if that doesn't fix anything, I'll be replacing the thermostat again.
 

7991LXnSHO

wanna catch the space herp
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  • Feb 10, 2022
  • #4
dcombs811 said:
That's probably going to be my next option....did a little poking around earlier, and found out that I'm throwing a P0128 code, along with 3 other emissions/O2 sensor codes. And the 0128 which comes back to the coolant temperature sensor not allowing it to enter closed loop mode. (the temp sensor is the only thing I didn't change) if that doesn't fix anything, I'll be replacing the thermostat again.
Click to expand...
If the sensor is right, the thermostat is bad or installed wrong.
If the thermostat is good, you should not be cold and the sensor is correct.
After thinking since 3 on this, I’m betting with Noobz.
 
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dcombs811

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  • Feb 10, 2022
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7991LXnSHO said:
If the sensor is right, the thermostat is bad or installed wrong.
If the thermostat is good, you should not be cold and the sensor is correct.
After thinking since 3 on this, I’m betting with Noobz.
Click to expand...
If that's the case I'll probably just get both the sensor and the thermostat together just to cover both ends
 

Noobz347

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  • Feb 10, 2022
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dcombs811 said:
If that's the case I'll probably just get both the sensor and the thermostat together just to cover both ends
Click to expand...
But swap only one thing at a time so that you can isolate and pinpoint the issue.
 
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dcombs811

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.
 
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dcombs811

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#8
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Noobz347 said:
But swap only one thing at a time so that you can isolate and pinpoint the issue.
Click to expand...
Well do...I definitely appreciate the advise!
 
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