2002 Chrysler Concorde Limited 6Cyl3.5L - Engine
.

Car only runs cool without thermostat in place. replaced radiator, tried 3 waterpumps and 3 different brand thermostats. Used Liquid steel as we suspected leak or crack. No HC's or water in oil and car runs down road without overheating as long as the thermostat is left out.

None of the termostats will open up althought they all test out perfectly,waterpump works and rad, hoses not plugged. Car runs perfectly without thermostat. Mechanic are completely baffled. Have you ever heard of this happening? No cylder head leaks or cracks as ther are no hc's. the entire cooling system checks out fine until you place a thermostat. Help

 

I remember 2 specifically back then that we ran into that had some casting slag clogging up a head port. Also someone may have put the head gaskets on the wrong side or upside down. Seen that done a few times.

 

heads are warped just enough when it gets to 210 or above the gasket cant hold back the combustion pressure then pushes out the gas and pushes coolant out.

 

thanks for the input

 

do you think there is still a chance that the lower hose is possibly collapsing with acceleration and maybe the mechanic over looked this. A warped head makes this car about worthless given it's age as I am told this is about a $2500 repair. I have already sunk $1000 bucks into this the last 2 1/2 months replacing the water pump 2 months ago and all of this diagnosis work and now all of a sudden it starts overheating again. How do I get out of this mess?

 

Thanks for the feedback! What a mess this is. Car only has 82k on it and is in perfect condition other than having this horrible issue.

 

there are coolant funnels that I use to add coolant to the system and let the air bubble out This is how I know of warped heads U can pick one up or maybe the mechanic has one fill the system all the way full and a little in the funnel run the engine and then watch it when the engine gets to 220 or higher u will see it start to spit and like ole faithful bacillary blow out the coolant it may take 10-15 min to do this but watch.
As for how much u spent on it already that is basically the mechanics fault for guessing at the issue and sorry that it was done if its down to money its all u what u can afford and what u want to spend.
Where are u located at I love those cars.

 

In Minneapolis, MN- Mechanic swears there is no leak because he is not getting hc's in the exhaust after running liquid steel process. There were unacceptable/high hc's in exhaust prior to running/using liquid steel. He is done with it so I just drove it home 12-15 miles with out issue. He said they have run it for over 30 minutes with out thermostat in it and runs just fine. Soon as they put stat in overheats just sitting in parking lot within 5 minutes. Thanks for suggestion as my mechanic has given up. Car is in excellent shape- 84k what do you think it is worth. Ball park idea?

 

check out kellybluebook.com

 

I've had the same issues you're having and I believe if you've already changed the thermostat and water pump and your resevoir is still bubbling after driving a short distance, your head is blown. I'm learning more about these POS cars than I want to. Good luck.