it happened today like out of no where. i let my car warm up before i moved it and within like 5 mins of driving to the gas station the needle was in the red and steam was coming out of the hood.

the symptoms were overheating, bubbling coolant in the surge bottle and a empty coolant bottle when you take the cap off.

the problem ended being this:




sorry for the blurry pics, but if you look real good you can see there are cracks along that brass ring which kept the thermostat closed and overheating the motor.

then the gasket that goes around the thermostat broke when i tried to transfer it over.
so the cost you may be wondering...$6 for the thermostat, $2 for the rubber gasket, $8 for a 3/8 breaker bar, $4 for the #40 torx socket, and $4 for the 6" extention all sold at advance auto.

a big thanks to Tech for being my moral support over the phone.

 

Thanks for the pics and the info.
Glad I could be there to help.