Long story short I replaced my Thermostat after reading on the forums when the temperature gauge stopped moving. I even took the old thermostat and put it on the stove and boiled water to see if it would pop and it didn’t do anything even when the water hit over 200 degrees(idea from AAA tow guy)
My problem is my car ran fine for 3 days after replacing Thermostat, everything was normal until today when the temp gauge stopped moving again.
This is an issue because when the car gets hot, the car will not always start after shutting if off due to Vapor lock. and I have been stranded 3 times last week until the car cools down enough for it to start.
Anybody have any ideas on why this could be happening. it seems the thermostat is a symptom and not the problem.
I have no way of checking codes if there are any unfortunately.
Thanks in advance for any advise
Thomas

 

Was the old thermostat stuck open or closed when you removed it from your vehicle?
Was the temperature gage reading to high or low with the old thermostat?

A thermostat stuck closed will cause overheating and your gage to read very high. A thermostat stuck open will cause the gage not to move becaue the water/engine will not heat up.

What makes you think you have vapor lock? Is the gage showing the engine has over heated?

Suggest you see if the local Autozone dealer or someone who can read the engine temperature with an infrared thermometer so you can see if the problem is the guage/sending unit.

Does the water boil out of the overflow tank or does it have black carbon in it? This may be a sign of a blown head gasket or cracked head. If this happens, you may have air pockets forming over time which prevent water from circulating and thermostat from opening.

You may want to drain all coolant, then refill to see if it helps remove trapped air. Not sure if these vehicles have air bleed valves which have to be opened during refill. If they do, make sure you open them.

Good luck