Overheated
 

I searched on this topic and came up with some answers, but nothing super helpful.

I was on my way home after about 15 miles of highway driving and hit some expected traffic and had to slow down. I remember checking my gauge aboout 10 minutes before and it (Aeroforce Interceptor) was showing normal (about 205). Next thing I know it had skyrocketed to 250 and the needle on the dash was about 3/4 of the way to the red.

I pulled off to the side of the road immediately. There was no fluid leaking anywhere, the coolant was full, the oil looked good, there was no hissing from the radiator cap. There was a faint smell of coolant near the reservoir which may be normal.

I let the car sit for about 15 minutes til it was under 220 and drove it about a 1/2 mile to a gas station and waited for the tow truck.

I put my hand on the hoses and noticed the top hose was HOT and the lower hose was warm.

My gut told me thermostat and I ordered one, but now I am not sold this was the cause.

Any suggestions????

I don't know. sounds like a thermostat that isn't opening properly. probably sticking a bit and opened too late.

I haven't seen many overheating issues with these S197's (but haven't really been looking either), are they common with these cars?

I would assume, like other cars, this is an age/mileage issue, OP how many miles are on your car?

The cause may also be a problem with the electric cooling fan, its sensor, or its circuitry if it overheats only when you're driving in slow moving traffic, or at a stop.

Usually a common issue is the thermostat housing cracking on 4.0s, but nothing else that I am aware of. Mine just failed this weekend at 103,xxx miles, not too bad I guess.

The car currently has 59,800 miles.

I didnt check the fan other then it was working when the car was idling. What I havent done is turn on the heater to see if I get hot air or not.

Is there a good way to check if the fan is working properly?

I just checked mine after reinstalling a new thermostat housing and the only way I know of, is to let the engine reach its normal temp, and see if it kicks on.

Also, while going through my tuner options, I can adjust at what temp my fan comes on, so maybe in your tuner, you have that option as well, you could set it to the lowest point, to avoid running the engine until it reaches the normal temp.

seems like your thermostat could have caused the issue... if you mix different colors, not sure which ones but it will create a nasty gunk that will clog up your thermostat as well as other parts of the cooling system... make sure to not mix the wrong color coolant. Since you a replacing the thermostat, might as well grab the 170* thermostat.

I did order the 170*, so that is the silver lining of the whole situation.

I havent messed with the coolant, but will use this install as a reason to go ahead and replace it.

I did put in Purple Ice about 8-10 months ago.......

I did some inspecting last night and one thing I noticed was if I squeezed the upper radiator hose lightly, I could hear what sounds like the thermostat clicking.....

Not sure what that means, but thought I would add it.

Also, Does anyone have a writeup on changing out the thermostat? It looks like I may have to remove the manifold to get to the back bolt (I sure hope not). It does seem like it could be possible to get a wrench on it once I remove the CAI, Throttle Body, and a few alternator adaptor plate bolts.