So I bypassed the thermostat in my 98 silhouette and it’s still overheating. I made it back home approx 60 miles before it overheated again though. Any advice on what the problem is?
I can’t imagine how you would bypass the thermostat but your engine will overheat if the thermostat is removed. Like many cars these days yours has a bypass thermostat that diverts coolant flow to recirculate through the engine when cold and out to the radiator when hot. Most of the time the thermostat is in a mid position where cool and hot are blended in an attempt to keep the engine temperature stable. Without the proper thermostat the coolant will take the path of least resistance relative to the pressure and volume of the flow. Hopefully you didn’t cause any catastrophic damage when the engine was overheating.
As to what caused the original overheating, my guess is a plugged radiator. Pretty common on a 20 year old car. A new one’s under $100 on Rockauto. Could also be the water pump.
Um so I know leaving the thermostat out was just a temporary fix and would react as if the thermostat was stuck open. But I also noticed that no fan ever kicked on at any point. And there was water leaking from the front driver side of the engine (kinda below the overflow tank area) do you think there is more of a problem than originally thought
Removing a bypass type thermostat is not the same as a thermostat that is stuck open. And a leak behind the overflow could be the water pump but if you have removed the thermostat you should have noticed a leaking water pump. Get under the car and look behind the water pump pulley for indications that it is leaking from the weep hole.
I don’t know where your problems began or what all has been done since you first recognized there was a problem so I’m out here shooting from the hip at a moving target. Give me some help.