i just went to his dealership around where i live in MD and i bought this 1996 ES300 for 5k. it has 118k miles on it and was a 1 owner. car drove great on the test ride. I did all the paperwork, and soon as i pulled off the lot it started overheating. when i popped the hook back at the dealership it seemed antifreeze was overflowing out of the resivour. the cap was slightly off.

They loaned me a car and put it in the shop for me, they said most likely it was a bad thermostat. Anybody think they can pinpoint the problem from the description, or suggestions???

Thanks. - P.

 

They should be doin that shhhhhh for free! Bad thermostat maybe but I hope they troubleshoot the problem 1st. good luck

 

Was the water pump replaced at 90K like it was supposed to?

 

i couldnt tell you if the water pump was replaced, but they are fixing the thermostat for free, they gave me a acura 2000 integra as a loaner free of charge.

 

WOW! its amazing because the same exact thing happened to me. Mines is a 1996 ES300 but with 159,000 miles on it. It test drove nice and smooth, brakes were great, transmission was smooth, and everything worked in the car. So as I was on the highway home the same thing, it over heated and the radiator hose blew off and coolant was spilled all over the engine.

Long story short, they replaced the hydraulic hose for the fan and said that was it, I drove it around more and it still was getting hot. So they changed the thermostat and the radiator cap. When I picked it up, it was raining so I couldnt run it like I wanted to so I tried to take it home (for the first time) and it happened again. As soon as I saw it getting hot I pulled over. I had my mechanic look at it and what is wrong with it, is a blown head gasket. After I heard that and read up on it, some white smoke I saw blowing out the back should have given it away... but I didnt know that meant anything at the time.


Have them do tests, you may have the same problem.

 

yeah well i got it back and so far so good, they replaced the thermostat, i drove it about 15 miles so far and it hasent been a problem, im just crossing my fingers theres nothing else wrong. i dont see any white smoke so far, ima take it to my mechanic in the next couple days to make sure there is nothing else wrong with it, have all types of checks done to it.

 

I hope you have better luck than myself. Im still waiting on the call that its ready for me to pick up... for a 3rd time.