The thermostat on most internal combustion
engines controls the flow of coolant to the radiator and this is fed into the
top tank of the radiator. The bottom hose is normally at the inlet to the
coolant pump. Vehicles with AC will have two radiators, and even
some, a third for transmission or oil cooling but the largest of them will be
the one handling engine cooling. Locate the topmost hose of the radiator and
simply follow it back toward the engine and it is normally connected to a
dome-like fitting, under which you will find the thermostat. If you are experiencing overheating though, it
may not be a failed thermostat; this can be caused by a radiator blocked with
debris, an internally collapsed hose and worst case, a failing head-gasket. The
latter can fail in several places and overheating is often caused by the
failure of it between coolant channels and one or more of the cylinders. This
allows passage of hot combustion gases directly into the coolant flow.
Check
the following: the overflow bottle for traces of oil contamination and possible
odor of exhaust fumes, the oil dipstick for a milky deposit and when the engine
is running, the overflow bottle for bubbles.
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