I have a 4 cyl 2002 Isuzu Rodeo which is puzzling me. I have just changed the thermostat on the car. It does not heat up enough for the cooling fans to turn on. Radiator cap is cool to the touch, but the hoses will get hot after a while. Water pump seems to be working. No coolant inthe oil. Coolant has filled up the overflow, but doesn’t pull back into the radiator as it cools.
thermostats have temp ratings, you may have got the lower temp.
Try replacing the radiator cap. It is cheap enough that it is worth trying even if it isn’t the problem.
Does this car have a temperature gauge? Does it reach normal operating temperature when you drive it? Is the new thermostat rated at the same temperature as the original?
Sometimes watching the cooling fan can be misleading. Are you experiencing any actual problems other than not seeing the cooling fan come on? Sometimes you have to crank the air conditioner and wait a long time before that fan comes on.
If it’s not drawing the coolant back into the radiator the cap may be bad. I’d try a new one.
Did you install a thermostat with the correct opening temperature?
I was told this was the oem version.
Raditor cap is new, Thermostat is upposed to be oem.
temp gauge runs a little higher than normal when driving. Thermostat is supposed to be oem. Cap and radiator are less than 3 months old. Cooling fans should typically run on this vehicle for 3-5 minutes after the car is turned off, now they don’t run at all.
Overheating Rodeo???
It does not heat up enoough to turn on the cooling fans???
I’m puzzled.
Obviously coolant isn’t flowing from the engine to the radiator. I would double and triple check that the thermostat is correctly installed (if you’re really unsure you might try temporarily running it without one to see if the problem goes away), but otherwise you’ve got a clog somewhere or the water pump isn’t actually working. How did you surmise the pump was working?
Once when I was a young lad, I had a rambler, and when I put in a new thermostat, I put it in upside down. Not that you would do such a thing, In many cars this is not even possible, but hey it could a happened, no? and once on an old stovebolt chevy, the new thermostat got stuck by the gasket sealant that I applied a bit too liberaly. In both cases the engine got hot, the radiator stayed cool, and the overflow didn’t. Good luck with this one.
Replaced it yesterday.
This particular model has the thermostat built into the housing which only fits one way.
The water pump was replaced yesterday.
Have an experienced friend look it over. Sometimes, it’s the simple things we overlook, time after time.