Hello everyone, I have a question about my 2012 chrysler 300 limited with a 3.6 litter. Recently the car over heated and I pulled over and noticed smoke coming out from the hood. I quickly parked and checked under the hood. I drove to Autozone bought a new radiator cap and topped off the coolant. Ever since then I been noticing weird fluctuations in the temperature. At highway speeds my temperature stays from 203-210. Now when I get stuck in traffic or bumper to bumper traffic the temperature goes up to 230 and sometimes up to 240 and one time to 247. As soon as I get back to highway speeds the temperature drops back down to 203-210. I replaced the water pump and thermostat and added the dódge brand from the dealer radiator fluid and yet it still does the same thing. I am gona take it to pep boys to get a diagnostic on it but wanted to ask anyone in here if they might have any ideas of what it might be? Possible clogged radiator?
Hopefully your overheating incident didn't result in a blown head gasket.
Stay away from Pep Boys.
Check the cooling fans. If that's not the culprit, check the radiator fluid; it may need to be flushed. Worst case scenario- replace the radiator entirely.
Never go to Pep Boys for anything except directions, and don't trust them either. If the radiator isn't clogged, you either have air in the system that needs to be burped out or your water pump is going out. Also, check your ten year old temperature sending unit to see if it's functioning properly, or just get a new one.
I replaced the water pump and thermostat already. I'm thinking it might be a clogged radiator?
Not likely. Did you burp all the air out?
I haven't done that.
Best way to do it is to get a special burp funnel kit at the auto parts store (about $20). Remove the radiator cap, install the funnel with the correct adapter, fill it about 1/3 with coolant, start the car and let it warm up with the heat selector on HIGH. You'll know when the thermostat opens when you see air bubbles coming out. When it stops, shut the engine off, plug and remove the funnel and reinstall the cap. Fill the reservoir to the max line while it's hot.
Thanks for that information. I will try that out and let you know how it goes.