If the needle on your car’s temperature gauge is moving up and down erratically, this is a sign that the thermostat is going bad. Twin City Automotive will talk more about this below. The thermostat that was installed in the factory is designed to last between 100,000 miles and 150,000 miles. In years, this generally means between seven to 10 years. Once your vehicle is this old, there are some parts that will wear down and the thermostat is one of them. Do not worry. We can replace the thermostat if it needs it. Here are four signs that it does.
A Rusted Thermostat Housing
One thing you can do is pop the hood and visually inspect the thermostat to see if the housing is corroded. This is an indication that the thermostat has developed a slow leak out of the coolant valve. When this happens, the coolant pools around the metal housing and corrodes it. Consequently, this rust will eat through the metal out of which the housing is made. This will leave you with…
Coolant Leaking on the Garage Floor
Once the thermostat is leaking coolant on the garage floor, time is of the essence in replacing it. You do not want the engine to lose the coolant that keeps its temperature under 220 degrees Fahrenheit. Unfortunately, if the thermostat has a hole in it, it will leak coolant out of the cooling system. Consequently, your engine is likely to run hotter if not overheat depending on how much coolant is missing. To avoid this, have the thermostat replaced at the first sign of corrosion.
Erratic and Unpredictable Temperatures
As promised above, erratic and unpredictable temperature changes in the engine reflected on the temperature gauge are a result of a malfunctioning thermostat that is not releasing the coolant when the engine needs it. This is a sign that the thermostat is not reading the engine’s temperature correctly. Consequently, the engine will fluctuate between running too hot and running too cold because the thermostat is releasing the coolant at unpredictable times.
Constant and Quick Overheating
Finally, it only makes sense that all of this is going to cause your engine to overheat. In the case of the thermostat, the engine tends to overheat quickly after you start it. This is an indication that the thermostat is failing to open up the coolant valve to release the coolant.
Twin City Automotive in Winston-Salem, NC, is here to help, so give us a call today to schedule a service visit so we can test your automobile’s thermostat.
