A Not So Hot Town and Country 🥶
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- Come along as I have a look at a customers Chrysler Town and Country with the big 3.6 that has the classic P0128. 90% of the time this requires a thermostat but it always pay to take a minute to find out for sure. -Enjoy!
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Dad used to say there are two kinds of auto repair shops, the part changers and the real mechanics. You Sir are a real mechanic.
Not in this video he just did the part change routine HAHA!!!!
@Minivan Lifestyle Why not, just get right to the point, replace everything, and call it a day. Just ignore the locked up engine, that's far from important type diagnostics LOL.
Eric O is way beyond the "real mechanic" realm.
Happy Friday, Eric O!
Here's a tip for reinstalling screws back into plastic or "self" tapping screws into metal. Place the screw in position, then slowly turn it backwards. When the screw lines up with the original threads you can feel it drop into those threads then you can screw it in without it trying to cut new threads. It also helps to keep from cross threading standard bolts and screws.
EXCELLENT ADVICE. Saves a lot of stripped out holes in dash air ducts and blower motor mounting holes as well.
Yes. I do this too
Just send it with a impact and a smile 😂
@@pritchy26HD Impact + a bigger size screw
Yes. Learned this when I was 16.
You skipped the step of parting to your god of choice.
He makes that look like a easy fix. It looks like the automakers made it possible and easier to change out the thermostat on that model. That's amazing.
My car is the same; the bolts just screw into metal.
On my 98 f150 it should have been a piece of cake but the moron that changed a thermostat before me turned them into circles so after hours of frustration and an air filter housing that I put my fist through I managed to just barely squeeze a dremel in there to cut it off
As s Mopar owner I assure you, they've engineered nothing, it's all by chance.
its not amazing, it's experience!
Ran into an odd one on a 3.6 in a Grand Caravan. Owner changed the oil, added the 6 quarts with new filter but it showed none on the stick. Talked to them and found that the original dipstick had broke and they replaced it with a salvage yard one, but the salvage stick was from a Journey with the 3.6. Yard told them they were the same, but the Journey stick is almost 2" shorter!
or maybe it just needed a few extra quarts haha
Just needed a dipstick extender.
I love how willing you are to teach the average Joe how to repair their own automobile.
Eric your always thorough on every diagnosis. Learn so much from your videos
I love the basics. It's refreshing to see basic mechanical repairs, in addition to more complicated diagnoses.
Eric, I watch every video - love your content. I'm a shade tree mechanic 3rd class and my little sponge keeps soaking up good knowledge nuggets from watching you. Great business, great family - you sir are the reason the American dream exists.
I felt scared and abandoned being left in the shop all night ... but was relieved you figured this one out and came back in the morning ... and very glad I stuck around for the nifty screw reinstall tips listed below ; )
LOL. best reply.
My TNC has the same exact problem right now at 280,000 miles. I think it’s the original thermostat. I will replace it with glee, for it has lived a glorious life and earned a memorial befitting a part of great significance to the mopar gods.
I like how you and Rainman just take little things out of each other : you say the mileage at the beginning, he says "the classic reach around", also the doodleydooos
Love it !
Who?
@@ShainAndrews rainman ray, some other youtuber
@@jake-mv5oi Yep I watch Ray Rainman youtube to......lol I learn a lot watch both of youtubers there top notch mechanic's and honest and how they break every thing why working on cars and teach how be honest and how do the job right on cars.....lol
@Minivan Lifestyle I must missed that one or something with cut something apart.
@Minivan Lifestyle ok i sure will
With winter right around the corner, that's a timely repair!
Had to change one in my van last year. I took my belt off so it didn't get wet with coolant, but a drip mat would be a great idea as well.
i use dog pee mats they are pretty cheep and small enough to tuck in just about any place ,even under the oil filter on my vw bug.
@@johnchambers12 Great idea! I'm gonna use that idea from now on. Thanks!
When I was a truck mechanic I had a driver call in that the engine was overheating badly. This was when the radiator end caps were on the top and bottom so I was able to stick a thermometer into the hot coolant flow coming off the engine. It never showed it was overheating and the dash gauge stopped showing overheating. Got the truck into the shop and the temperature gauge showed overheating again. Replaced the mechanical temperature gauge and it quit showing overheating with the new gauge. Checked the old temperature gauge real good and found a crack in the sensor bulb that screwed into the engine block. The gauge was registering coolant pressure when the cap was on instead of coolant temperature.
Dear Eric, I recently used your pressure transducer trick for checking cylinder head gasket for leakage, I found that I had 3 cylinders leaking and a warped head, this saved me from pulling the head and leaving my bay stuck while waiting for a head, I’ve been an auto tech for 26 years and I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks, thanks for the great videos.
It sounds like Josh is making sure the oil drain plug bolt has enough torque.
or trying to take one off, how true,
Tighten until it snaps, then, back off 1/2 turn?
Tighten till it loosens....lol
It's better than using a new washer..
hammer down
Factory spec.
My Dodge uses the same G05 coolant. Bought the Zerex G05 to change the coolant, found that it's CLEAR...no dye at all. Makes it all sort of fun to check coolant levels 😉
Add a few drops of food coloring of your choice to make checking levels and for leaks much easier.
ERIC, YOUR DIAGNOSIS IS LOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC; IT IS NUMBER 1. THANKS
I was a mechanic but still learn from you so thank you for spending the time to video everything you do. We all learn from your experiences!
The No Mercy Reversi, not to be confused with The Courtesy Reacharound.
Happy Friday Eric O.
He said "algorithm". Hu hu hu.... That's cool. Lol.
Good morning and thanks for the video
Love these vans, put my kids thru school on them! Highly recommended transportation! :) Or a Ford Escape!
Haha. Nice easy one for a change!
The thermostat housing on our van blew out a chunk of plastic and sprayed out all the coolant. It was wonderful.
Probably that bleeder screw LOL. Today's plastic cars are a joke. I was surprised the thermostat housing on my 05 Ford Taurus isn't plastic, although the whole intake is WTF.
Thanks for a great video Eric. I hope you guys have a great weekend!!
Changed one of these last week... Plastic cracked in 2 spots, was spitting coolant everywhere. Got one from the Naper, same one🤣
No mercy reversey, I'm using that one today
What a way to start a Friday! A SMA video, some freshly-ground coffee bean coffee (too early to make that sound better), and a Luna sighting!
Thank you Mr O, and I hope you and the family have a great weekend!
Good morning. What’s a Luna sighting? Thank u😄
@@billrimmer5596 Luna is the outdoor shop cat. She's outside the door on the right at around 14:22 in the video. And good morning to you as well!
@@wallingj68 Thank u!!
Good Catch - Luna the attack cat.....
I always say coffee and Ray everyday makes my day now how can I get Eric to rhyme in this as you know little fits man have a great day
I AM 75 YEARS OLD AND RETIRED AND ENJOY ALL YOUR STUDY CASES.
On my older GM, when the temp wasn't up to ECU specs in time it would turn on the cooling fans full blast it beliw zero temps and dash temp guage would go to zero. It was a bad thermostat. What a pain to swap due to placement.
I diagnose / repair electronic cards to component level 35+years. It's wonderful to see that our diagnosis strategies and work ethic are very similar. I learn a lot from your videos , Great job! 👍👍
Dude, love the "Gulf" hat. Old school for sure. I saw an "Enco" hat the other day. Those were the days. Thanks for each and every video!!!!
“Two pegs, one non peg” 😂 I love this channel dude always a good time!
I've always tested thermostats with either a heat gun or torch to see if they function properly. An added bonus to making sure you're not wasting time.
A pot of boiling water with a meat thermometer and it works too they give you pretty accurate reading and the seated up on stove you'll know when the thermostat opens have a good day
First repair I ever did was replace a thermostat. Not going to mention how many years ago that was. Great first job for an inspiring mechanic. Eric, your bringing back old memories. Thanks for Sharing!
This was also my first repair. On a 2001 Cavalier in -10F cold on a dirt driveway. I got the new thermostat in but caused an air lock. Yeah, I had no mechanical aptitude at that age lol.
I like the old gulf hat, I remember when those stations were around, back in the eighties, up here in Ontario Canada anyways.
I only use OEM coolant as well and change it at recommended intervals. Doing so has served me well. Have a great day.
The durability of hoses has certainly improved over the years. I used to replace them every four years, whether they looked like they needed it or not. I only had one hose fail and it was on a 1978 Datsun pickup where it was deep in the engine compartment and I didn't find it until it burst.
I had a lower hose burst on a 1978 K5 Blazer once. It was just pissing everywhere but I had work to do so I drove it almost 20 miles and it never over heated.
I also had a 1993 Dodge Spirit once. Nice little car. A shop put on a new front motor mount. The mount had a bracket on top for the lower hose. I could have changed it but my dad took the car to a mechanic. After we got it back we went to McDonald's. After going over a speed bump it ripped the hose off the car. The guy put the mount over the hose and let the hose basically dangle. So had to drive it with no coolant about 7 miles. I ended up replacing the head gasket shortly after.
The old rubber hoses should be replaced every three years, but the EPDM hoses that are universal now often last the life of the car.
I know I can’t believe it, I would always have a hose going on my cars but this last one 2005 Ford Explorer still has original hoses and they feel perfect.
I replace mine every 20 years whether they need it or not.
My father in law has an '04 Wrangler that suffered two simultaneous failures a couple weeks ago. Bad temp sensor led to the computer thinking the engine was cold, so it didn't turn the fan on; bad radiator cap didn't vent - at all - in the resulting overheat. The hoses held up, but the top rail of the radiator basically exploded. We replaced the radiator, cap, hoses, clamps, and sensor.
Next up you'll find the head gaskets have failed, they don't like to be overheated, specially that aluminum and plastic engine crap. One overheat with my 98 Grand Cherokee's 4L I6 was enough to do it in....but I honestly don't miss it at all given a couple weeks after the head gasket/overheat issue was fixed the transmission decided to puke transmission fluid all over my carport...that was enough for me to kick that thing to the curb.
Great how they use plastic for aost everything, I went to drain my coolant and the head of the drain plug some how had broken off. Fun getting out.
Thanks Mr. O, you never fail to educate and entertain!
An SMA video always makes my day.
Instead of using the bleeder screw, the air can be expelled out of the radiator by squeezing the top radiator hose until the coolant is completely full.
Gotta watch out for the stamped and welded rear “axel” on those things. I spent months welding those things together cause the plant somehow missed it. 😊
OMG ,not your standard miss at the factory, maybe sombody forgot to train the new guy!
You had a good point about plastic parts. There are pluses and minuses. The failure was the thermostat not the housing. Considering the cost of the plastic housing, it is a new part that will take longer to degrade than the old part. A good tip of diagnosing rather than assuming.
Hey, Eric. How are things going for you? Today's lesson was very well done. I have worked on a Chrysler 300. They are certainly like jigsaw puzzles when you have to get down into the guts. Your hints and tips about what a novice can't see directly are a great help. I am also motivated to find a guy who has years of experience the next time I am tempted to do my own fix. Yeah, "If I can do it, you can do it!" is a great motto. But the time needed and the mistakes made are not in the same ballpark. Thanks for teaching! Anyway, thanks for sharing! Stay healthy!
My 2009 wrangler coolant sensor failed this way. Flipped a new t stat in first and then did some more digging and over the next weeks it got worse (slowly reading lower and lower) with the readout slowly dropping until it died altogether. As usual, Mr O speaks from experience!
Nicely done Mr.O My daughter likes sitting with her car running or leaving her car run . Then she complains it’s not getting warm enough. I explained to her when the car is sitting parked and running it heats up beyond the thermostat opening temp until it reaches the fan switch temp. (Usually, I’m guessing around 220 degrees)
If you heat it to the fan switch temp. It will open quite a bit more which causes premature wear and early failure. I usually tell the people ten minute warm up and off ya go. Anything more is probably not good for your thermostat. Nice Job as usual Eric.
My wife's 2015 Grand Caravan just threw this code. Will follow your diagnosis and repair steps. Thanks.
Nice job as always! Gotta tune in for Eric's Comments, just an FYI for the do it yourselfers, You can weasel that thermostat housing out of there without pulling the airbox/intake hose and if you happened to have recently flushed the coolant, or you're just a cheap SOB, and don't want to do a full flush; that handy little bleeder screw on top of the housing makes it a snap to get the air out. you'll only lose a tiny amount of coolant because the thermostat is on the high side of the block. I actually have to hand it to Chrysler on that one its a super simple job to replace that thermostat and housing.
Easy peasy job, done in 5 minutes. Just a swap job, new replacing the old. First time I've ever seen MOPAR antifreeze. Good job. I'm happy !!! 😛😛
Retired 2 years now but this brings back memories of repairing those minivans at the assembly plant. Thanks for the videos Eric O.
Just curious why would the vans need repairing at the assembly plant?
@@tinytim9453 I guess you have never did any kind of work in an auto plant. I once saw a guy right on the line run a Expedition into another.
Vehicle fault was discovered during assemble. Easy to fix later than stopping line. Toyota. I believe would stop.the line and fix when discovered. Expensive way.
@@tinytim9453 Supplier manufacturing problems, Workers on the line cutting and screwing screws through wires, I could keep the list going but most of all it is operator related problems on the line.
@@SouthwestD313 37 years working at the Chrysler Minivan plant in Windsor, Ontario Canada and now I am retired, I think I worked on the line.
drinking coffee and watching a sma video oh ya
161K miles. 😳 Good job sir and thank you for sharing your mechanical wisdom with us. 😉
P0128 Causes:
Faulty/stuck open thermostat (most common)
Missing Thermostat 😱
Faulty coolant temperature sensor
Faulty wiring for coolant temperature circuit(Critters, corrosion, etc...)
nice summary
@@peetky8645 😁👍
A shorter summary would be, somethin's broken under the hood LOL.
Let me know if you are in need of South Dakota license plates! Would be an honor to have them on Mrs O’s wall! Have made it through most all of your videos from the last 7yrs. Just started with Ivan’s channel this evening. Thank you for your efforts! You are an inspiration! Been in an out of the business for almost 30yrs. Electrical has been my handicap. Getting more confident with the education you have provided! Thanks again!!
I'm glad you're making more videos again. I had to get my mechanic jones from Diagnose Dan and Rainman Ray. Thanks for the great content.
Mr. Eric, I recently started watching your channel. I want you to know I really enjoy what you do, and respect your profession. It's not always as easy as you make it look. Keep up the good work, and keep the content rolling... :)
A great job Eric, as usual....
Had one of them vans did that job was glad to send it down the road to someone else. Something was wrong with it all the time.
HEY! Good morning Eric! Happy Friday to everybody!
"No mercy reversey"...lol another great quote..keep them coming . Thanks Mr O
It’s great how it’s failed open, back when I was on the tools thermostats would fail closed and overheat the engine. I don’t know how they’ve done it but it’s saved a few engines.
Mr. O… did this on the same engine a while back, easy to do, just didn’t remove the air box to get more access, and was glad I had flex head wrenches to get that bottom fastener. Good to know about the temp sensor though 👍
Hello Mr O. About 6:45 you popped a harness or hose off of the air box, but I didn’t see you put it back on during reassembly. Probably just didn’t get filmed, seemed like it would have been about 12:10 when you moved us out of your way.
Great video and work as always!
Thanks for sharing!
This was a good reminder of past experiences with thermostats....... Thanks Eric.
Easy one for a change! Happy Friday Team SMA!
Drove by your lovely town last week during the rain. Had to get back to Kansas.
Your memory is amazing after working on all these different cars, you remember each one.
As always I totally enjoyed the video 👍
I DIY can check the coolant temp with the dash reading as well as with the scan tool. Thanks for showing the dash at the end of the test drive. Thanks for telling how checking the heater output and hose temperatures can be part of the diagnostic process.
Eric, I don’t know how you clean your hands but Dawn Powerwash is amazing. After trying it I use nothing else. I enjoy your channel very much.
Seemed all my cars needed a thermostat. But being older models they where separate from the housing. You could take it out and run the vehicle if you needed to pick up parts. Strange to see engines sideways in an engine bay. How much more can cars evolve ? Love your content. Good day to you!
Sideways mounted engines have been around for 30+ years. That's typically what you'll always find in a front wheel drive based vehicle. Servicing them is typically a PITA too.
My Ranger's thermostat can be removed and you can run it without one, but not a good idea. I'm not sure how the thermostat is in my 08 Explorer, I believe its the same way, can be removed and the thermostat cover reinstalled without a thermostat. My Ford Taurus is the same as well...however the sideways mounted engine makes for an interesting time trying to change spark plugs, the top of the intake has to come off...which is plastic, so its kind of one of those do I ignore the spark plugs to keep from possibly damaging the intake.
Thanks for the tips. They are appreciated.
Always nice when everything just comes apart like it’s made to
yay im early! hello from Scotland, enjoyed your vids for a long time just want to thank you and your family and staff for all the great content.
Thanks! I’ll be tackling my next thermostat on my t&c. A machanic will charge you $300+ for that job. The oem part is only about $50 plus the coolant. Probably less than $100 total.
I dumped a gallon of oil on top of the engine of my truck.while pouring it into the funnel. DUFUS move!! Even after many washings it dripped oil for about 2 years and then finally stopped. This one made me remember that. Ive put helicoils into plastic and never had a problem with them. But never into an existing metal thread insert in plastic, but I do put anti on the bolts when reassembling. So it can be taken apart the next time if ever. Ken has the right idea, I use that on hard to reach and start things.
Always informational and entertaining!
*Here's to 1M subscribers!*
Good process people stay with that they won't make mistakes
Rotor button, dammit man! Yep,I forgot it once....
Classic horn by Mrs O😂
Enjoyed my visit to SMA as always. Thanks for the video.
The old T&C! From one Mr. O to another, have great weekend!
Awesome vids. Love the humour, as a mechanic myself I feel your pain.
Are the braces new?
They have to be. I never saw them before.
I enjoy watching the best mechanic on TH-cam.
Thanks Eric.
Thanks as always, Eric! Happy Friday!
Ho Lee Chit your on top of your game Mr.O . I learned how not to be embarrassed in the diagnosis realm.
Now things are heating up at SMA, have a good one! 👍👍
5:19 -- "It's five o'clock. Time to go home. Mrs. O is cookin' dinner." I'd go home, too. Home cooked meals are one of the greatest things in this life. My wife is an amazing cook, also, and I *never* miss one of her meals. Yum!
I don't mind a Chrysler running 185-195 F. I think the lower end of the scale should be 165-170F before a check engine light. Running too hot is more problematic run a 190F I would run for all that aluminum but I ain't no engineer.
14:00 enter Josh!!! You better go shake his hand for that one!!!! Must be an after lunch video......
Plastic parts.
When I was a kid back in the 70s my grandfather told me that in the future everything would be made of plastic. He was right.
The plastic intake on my GMC 5.3 always gave me pause but I've had it off and on twice and all is well.
Good work on your part as usual.
Little kitty hanging out at the office door. No service. 😀
Messing with the radiator petcock was pretty risky as convenient as it is. You must be the best mechanic on TH-cam.
Nice fix. Just in time for winter.
Just did my thermostat housing on my mini countryman. Talk about major pain in the butt. Wiring all in the way and most of the clamps face away from you from the factory.
Thanks Eric
Glad to hear Mr O checked the new thermostat opens, before installing.
Just an intense DIY'er here... But, the last thermostat I played with was jammed open by a rather large piece of debris which wedged itself in the actual thermostat preventing it from closing all the way.
No-parts-required repairs are always rather pleasant to encounter.
I did this repair on the wife's T&C a couple years ago. I also opted to replace the entire plastic assembly because, as you said, plastic gets brittle and it was only a few more dollars that way. I did this one without removing the air box but I wasn't trying to make sure that TH-cam could look over my shoulder. Thanks for taking the time to bring us along! You ever notice that Chrysler's red coolant has a slimy kind of feel to it compared to other brands?? or maybe its just me...
The green stuff is slimy too. I think all coolant is at least that I've ran across.