hello to all i just bought a 05 town and country 3.8 and it has started to overheat but not all the time if it is going to overheat it will do it within the first 5 -10 min of driving if you shut the van off for a couple min then start it back up it will be fine i have turned off the key while rolling down the road then turnt it back on in a min and it is ok but now you have intermittent heat and the rad will be low i have also noticed the a/c compressor running when the heat is on and the mode is set to vent push the a/c button on and off a couple times and it stops i have replaced the thermostat and bleed it does have front and rear heat and a/c any ideas what might be wrong thanks for any help

 

This just could be a symptom of a semi-blocked coolant radiator. This is an aluminium one and if the coolant hasn't been changed since day one, the aluminium corrodes and blocks the flow of coolant.

Testing is easy; let all the coolant out, but catch it in a bowl. Undo the top hose and after wiping it, blow as hard as you can down the hose and into the rad. If you find considerable resistance, you likely have a partly blocked rad. Replacement is the only cure. Flushing doesn't work with aluminium. Another giveaway is bits and general rubbish like rust particles in the coolant. The right coolant is 50-50 HOAT type, but this must be replaced every 5 years. Of course if the rad is free, reassemble, but change the HOAT antifreeze if there's any suspicion it's old.

Leedsman.

 

Did you solve the problem?, I have identical symptoms, and the heat will only blow hot in the car for a minute, then cold air only.