Thermostat question

Asked by GuruTZF6T Jun 13, 2018 at 10:55 AM about the 1997 Pontiac Bonneville 4 Dr SE Sedan

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My 1997 Pontiac Bonneville had sat for approx. 1 year and It developed a lot
of gunk in the radiator. At this point All I have done was remove the lower
hose and a bunch of rust came out. After reconnecting the hose the temp was
doing fine but recently my temp gauge has been going up to about 230 deg.
but I did not overheat the engine. My question is, due to the thermostat
housing having a bleeder screw can I remove the thermostat to flush the
system and run the car for a couple of days with the thermostat out and will I
be able to bleed the system or will I have to install the new thermostat to do
the flushing process? I'm old school and this is the 1st time I have ever seen a
need to bleed the cooling system. Other than this temp rising the car runs
fine, no signs of leaks or loss of power. Any help will be greatly appreciated,
Bill

3 Answers
40,075

beatupchevy answered 6 years ago

I would remove the stat , and flush the system by pulling the hose , replace with hot fresh water , while it's running , do that as many times as you want , then get a new stat, and top off the radiator with water with some coolant in it , see how that does , and if there's a problem , or before winter pull the hose , and add a gallon of straight coolant , test the coolant and add accordingly

Mark helpful

GuruTZF6T answered 6 years ago

beatupchevy, thanks for your reply but what I really need to know is, if I remove the stat and reinstall the water neck will I have to bleed the system or can I just drive the car for a day or two to clean the system and then replace the stat and then bleed the system? Thanks, Bill

Mark helpful
26,865

taver91 answered 6 years ago

Go ahead and pull the tstat and run the car for a few days. No bleeding is needed. Then do another flush and refill with 50/50 antifreeze/water mix and install a new tstat. I doubt if you will need to bleed the system but just watch your temp to make sure things seem OK. If not, then do the bleed and run again.

Best Answer Mark helpful

Your Answer:

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