ok,my girls car has been acting up lately.her dad changed some cooling things like hoses,ect but no thermostat.so yesterday i bought a thermostat cause it started to overheat,when i turned i was told by someone to take off the hose and shove a screw driver into the housing and break the thermostat so it might fix the prob...i didnt have the right tools where i was and it didnt go all the way to redline so,i figured i can make it to my aunts and use their tools.
i tried to start it and.........nothing,it turns over but it dosent fire up.....?

WTF!!!!

i think its not getting spark or fuel,tried the fuel thing fuel is good has pressure and is working...so im thinking spark.
could it be a coincidence?something else went?
maybe dizzy(had oil inside),spark plugs,or alternator?

im puzzeled here.....
someone help me..engine has less than 62k on it...........as soon as it gets fixed its getting traded,she wants an str4..... ....im not complaining
thanks.
-keith-

 

so she wants to trade in for an underpowered skittle and your glad? OK. Go for the screw-driver-backyard-shadetree-don't-have-the-skill-to-do-it-right-trick and that'll fix it....if it's a problem with the thermostat being stuck closed, however since the thermostats are made to open in the event of failure I doubt that will solve your issue. Replace the thermostat with a new one, and when you refill the coolant make sure you get out all the air that made it into the system, as air pockets can cause the coolant flow to stop or slow and therfore you'll overheat again. I would check for spark and if your getting it then I would say it may just be part of the overheating. I have had vehicles not start when they overheat, so after it cools down and gets fixed you should be ok. It is possible that the high engine temps affected seals in other components or overheated the sparkplugs which could fry the conductor inside the plug.

 

Good advice from K-man.-Bob

 

im with them, doing that will only temporarily fix the problem, you need a new thermostat, also when filling up the coolant, fill up as high as you can (after putting on a new thermostat) then start you car and leave the cap off, when car gets to idling temperature (thermostat opens up).... top off your coolant and it should be fine, also to check your spark... pull one sparkplug wire out and put a screw driver in the end, then lay it by a bolt that is grounded about a 1/4 inch away from the bolt, step back and have your girl try to start the car but only for a second and watch the plug wire... if you do this right you should see a spark jump from the wire to the bolt. thats how you check for spark, plus if the spark is red to orange color, its weak, if its a light blue to white color its good. good luck

 

did you loosen the ground on the thermostat?

 

you can use the screw driver for the spark check, or leave the plug in and place the tip near a ground, this way you can see if the plug has been fryed as well.

 

hey,sorry for not getting back to this post,ok,its not getting spark in cyl #3 so im gonna be changing ALL the plugs and i have the new thermostat already....the screwdriver thing was kind of a joke......i was really planning on putting a new one in.thanks for the input guys.ill lmk,the out come.

the srt4 is what she wants,i dont mind,but i wanted to swap an auto ls and boost it(she cant drive stick) not yet atleast.

thanks KENDER,for the sarcasim,and the help full info.ill try that tomorrow after work.thanks again guys.
-keith-