Speed Auto Repair advises that you should get anywhere from 100,000 miles to 150,000 miles out of the factory thermostat in your automobile’s engine. Once your vehicle has aged and driven this many miles, the thermostat could start leaking or malfunction. Do not worry if this happens. We can replace the factory thermostat with another one that will give you the same lifespan. Let’s talk about the signs that the thermostat is going bad below so you know what to look for in your automobile.
A Rusty Thermostat
If you were to pop the hood and see that the thermostat is rusty, this is a sign that it is leaking slowly. Unfortunately, the valve that the thermostat opens to send coolant into the water pump can get stuck in the closed position and cause the coolant to leak out of it. When this happens, the coolant rests against the thermostat’s metal housing and starts to eat away at it. Unfortunately, the housing will get corroded. It’s best to replace the thermostat right away when the housing is in this condition.
Leaking Engine Coolant
You may not realize that your thermostat is rusted and that there is a leak until the leak gets worse. Once the leak is bad enough to leave coolant on the garage floor, you definitely need to have the thermostat replaced right away. A leak this bad is going to reduce the coolant level in the engine. Consequently, your engine will start to run hotter than it normally does. This is definitely a sign that you need a new thermostat or that there is another problem in the cooling system.
Weird Temperature Changes
The thermostat will also start to malfunction when it gets too old. As such, you will see strange temperature fluctuations being reflected on the temperature gauge needle on the dashboard. Your engine may run too cold only to run too hot a moment later only to run too cold again. This is an indication that the thermostat is malfunctioning and releasing the coolant at the wrong time.
Constant Overheating
Finally, if your engine has started to overheat constantly and quickly after you start it, it’s possible that the thermostat has died and is no longer sending the coolant to the water pump. When this happens, you do not have coolant circulating through the engine.
Speed Auto Repair in Roswell or Alpharetta, GA, is here to help, so call us today to set up an appointment for a thermostat inspection and replacement.