Your car’s thermostat is responsible for releasing the coolant into the engine. Once the coolant is released, the water pump circulates it through the engine so that it can keep the heat down and prevent your engine from overheating. The average lifespan of a thermostat is 10 years. If your vehicle is older than this and you notice any of the following signs listed below, Integrity Auto Repair warns that it is possible that your thermostat is faulty or has died completely. Once this happens, the thermostat needs to be replaced. We can do this at our shop.
1. Overheating
A faulty thermostat may not release the engine coolant because it is malfunctioning or because it is not reading the engine temperature correctly. Naturally, without any engine coolant flowing through it, your engine will overheat. If your car overheats every time that you drive it, this is definitely a bad sign. The culprit for the overheating could be the thermostat, especially if you notice that your temperature gauge is constantly registering higher than normal.
2. Fluctuations
Another sign that your thermostat is faulty is sporadic temperature changes. If you notice that the temperature gauge is spiking up and dropping down erratically, there could be something wrong with the thermostat. In this case, the thermostat could be causing the gauge to malfunction and it is not keeping track of the temperature correctly. This can also cause your car to overheat as discussed above. Replacing the thermostat will stop the temperature gauge from moving up and down erratically.
3. Leaks
Eventually, the thermostat can spring a leak. If it does, you will end up with leaking coolant. Usually, the coolant will leak out of the thermostat when it is stuck in a closed position. If you pop the hood, you may see coolant all around the thermostat housing. Unfortunately, the coolant can also leak out of the radiator hoses. When this happens, you will see coolant on the garage floor underneath your automobile. Naturally, leaking coolant reduces the amount of coolant in your engine, and this can make your engine overheat if there isn’t enough coolant reducing the temperature.
Integrity Auto Repair in Eugene, OR, can help. Call us today to set up an appointment if you suspect that your vehicle has a faulty thermostat. We will inspect the thermostat and test it to see if it is still working. If it isn’t, we can replace it for you. If your car is overheating, we recommend that you have it towed to our shop rather than driving it. Driving it can damage the engine.
