Temperature gauge

VEXEDDRIVER

MEMBER
DODGE CARAVAN

1995 doge grand caravan 240000 miles. Yesterday I noticed thetemp gauge move up quickly and my check gauges light came on. I drove it home a mile or 2 and watched as it fluctuated. I checked the antifreeze and added a little but the next trip out that day the gauge kept going back and forth from high to mid. That night I let it warm up about 20 minutes before driving and the gauge stayed on hot and never moved back down. Also I noticed that there was no hot air comming from the heater. Is this possibly a thermostat and if so how hard is it to change in this vehicle. There is no noticable smoke comming from the vehicle.

1 Reply

MATHIASO

MECHANIC
1,209 POSTS

Let's ruine out for a defective temperature gage and focus on overheating problem.
No hot air is coming out,that ruine out for a defective temperature gage.
It seems like the coolant is prevented from flowing through the cooling system properly.
Go to auto parts store,get an haynes repaire manual for 1995 doge grand caravan .
follow the procedure for draining the cooling system before removing the thermostat.
when the thermostat is removed, test it:

the thermostat should be open between 180 and 210 degrees fahrenheit.if it does not, replace the thermostat, if it does, move to next step,.
check the radiator in which the core passages are block with rust and corrosion.
check that out by reverse- flushing the radiator and reverse-flush the engine: