05 PT overheats when idle

[allhale09]

Maybe theres a way you could make an aftermarket fan work?I bought two 12" fans from work (Advance)and put them on my 85' Chevy C10 and ditched the clutch fan and shroud and it works great.I just have it wired to where they kick on when I turn the key on.I haven't got around to putting the kit on that kicks them on when it hits a certain temp.

[sponge9012]

no 130 isnt bad, cuz its not a dealer. its tuffy, and they did the last one for me, so they are even discounting the labor. should be 2.2 hours x 80 or so. i must say, they really take care of me there . . . second time they looked at it for free for me.

so i called chrysler and complained a bit, since this is the second fan in less than 1 year, and also the 1 that lasted less than 2 years before that. so first they said i had to take it to a dealer and get it diagnosed and whatnot. so they noted my call, and i got the number for lee chrysler from them.

when i called lee i explained a little about my problem. $108 just to diagnose (meaning tell me the same thing tuffy told me free) 'would you like to make an appointment?' haha no thanks.

after calling tuffy to tell them to go ahead and fix it for me, called back chrysler.

'are you at the dealership?'

no, they wanted over 100 dollars just to look at it, then im sure hundreds to fix it, and then what, i wait for you guys to maybe reimburse me? sorry that doesnt make sense. i was trying to NOT spend any more money, not spend more.

so this is where i told the guy that although i understand that they want me to go to a dealer for the repairs and there is only so much they can do, they need to understand that when i type 'pt cruiser overheat' into google i get 18,000 results and that it was obviously not an isolated issue, and im sure that they know about it. and that if they didnt make an attempt to work with me on this that i would 'trade in this piece of $#!+ for a toyota'

probably some other stuff too, but in a decently nice fashion, not yelling or anything, just making sure it was obvious that i wasnt happy. after being on hold for a while, maybe 10 or 15 minutes, he came back and told me that although he couldnt promise me anything, i should get the independant shop to fix it for 130, and that i could send them the paperwork and they would further evaluate my case / reimburse me. also that if i had a dealer do it that the diagnostic fee would not be reimbursed, pretty much not ever.

so im going to send them the stuff about the fans being replaced. maybe even some stuff from google, but maybe not since most of it isnt 2005 pt's. wish me luck. i dont expect it, but would love to get a check in the mail.

truth is, i really love this car, but my research is scaring me a bit. i dont want to trade it in, i had plans on keeping it for a while (haha at least till its paid off) but lots of horror stories. most of it for 2001 tho.

crewzin - any regrets about your pt ownership? it seems most of the issues were for earlier years, not as many for the later. but maybe its a matter of time....?

sorry done rambling for now.

[nevinsrt]

wow that sucks!!! freaking stealership!!!

if your looking to upgrade your T-stat.

a 180deg T-stat can be purchased at Napa

part # 153

[CREWZIN]

No regrets from me. The only thing I had to pay for is the fan. The power steering pump went out but was covered by warranty. The only time it let me down is when the wires from the Camshaft sensor came loose and got too near the half shaft and burnt threw the casing.

96K on it now and about to have the timing belt, water pump, serpentine and alternator belt and tensioner replaced. Bought my own parts ($270) and my mechanic will do it for $600.

By the way, you can pick up a fan and housing for about $100 on Flea Bay and install it yourself in about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. I could do it in an hour now that I've done it already.

[sponge9012]

Originally Posted by allhale09

Maybe theres a way you could make an aftermarket fan work?I bought two 12" fans from work (Advance)and put them on my 85' Chevy C10 and ditched the clutch fan and shroud and it works great.I just have it wired to where they kick on when I turn the key on.I haven't got around to putting the kit on that kicks them on when it hits a certain temp.

that sounds like a great idea, but im nowhere near savy enough to do all that.

[sponge9012]

Originally Posted by CREWZIN

The only time it let me down is when the wires from the Camshaft sensor came loose and got too near the half shaft and burnt threw the casing.

how much did that cost ? that sucks.

Originally Posted by CREWZIN

By the way, you can pick up a fan and housing for about $100 on Flea Bay and install it yourself in about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. I could do it in an hour now that I've done it already.

so when you replaced your fan, wasnt factory then? maybe thats the way to go. i checked on ebay, $97 free shipping. i paid 340 for a factory fan, even advance auto is 335 for it.

done and over anyway i guess. if i have to pay for an actual fan again, ill look into it. and i gotta get a manual im not the handiest guy on the planet, but i could maybe get a fan on with instructions.

[CREWZIN]

Originally Posted by sponge9012

how much did that cost ? that sucks.

Had it towed to nearest dealer in South Carolina. They were about to sell me the sensor when they found the wires burnt. They fixed the wires and it cost me 2 hours dealer time.

so when you replaced your fan, wasn't factory then? maybe thats the way to go. i checked on ebay, $97 free shipping. i paid 340 for a factory fan, even advance auto is 335 for it.

Yes it was a factory fan. Local dealer said National Back Order so I went on-line and searched and found a fan from a dealer in Texas who over-nighted it to my local dealer. I bought it and put it on myself.

done and over anyway i guess. if i have to pay for an actual fan again, ill look into it. and i gotta get a manual im not the handiest guy on the planet, but i could maybe get a fan on with instructions.

I did it without instructions. Not much too it actually. Upper manifold and upper radiator hose. Fan electrical connections and about 6 bolts that hold the housing. Worst part was the horizontal bar in front of the radiator. The radiator has to lean forward so the fan housing can come up threw the top, the horizontal bar that holds the temperature sensor has to come off and there's two 10mm bolts on each end that are a bear to get to.

[BLUEH20]

so the last one i put in lasted less than a year. and the one before that lasted less than 2 years.

this is a really expensive factory part, whats the deal? why so much trouble for it to keep working?

even under the warranty i still have to pay labor, roughly 130. should i just start putting aside money for a new fan every year?

You installed the currently failing Chyrsler fan yourself or had "tuffy" do it for you? The dealership is not responsible for your labor.

Why are you dealing with the service department/manager.

Your issue is with the parts department. You receive a 12/12,000 on any new part bought over the counter. The parts side of the house considers you a parts customer, like any indy mechanic. You indicate that the you have had the part for less than a year--how about the mileage? Below 12,000 from mileage at purchase? Actually 12,000 is not much of an issue as the MOPAR warranty used to state that is was 12/12000 which ever was more advantageous to the customer. You have a winner in that you have had the part less than 12 months.

Have the Indy repair shop return the failed fan to the Chrysler Parts Department, with their purchase receipt and your mileage and get the new part under MOPAR warranty. The Labor cost is between you and the "Tuffy". Chrysler is not involved. Put it in. Get down the road.

One more question--what kind of warranty did "tuffy" give you on the original repair?

[sponge9012]

Originally Posted by BLUEH20

You installed the currently failing Chyrsler fan yourself or had "tuffy" do it for you? The dealership is not responsible for your labor.

tuffy installed the fan. didnt expect the dealership to do anything.

Originally Posted by BLUEH20

Why are you dealing with the service department/manager.

im not.

Originally Posted by BLUEH20

Your issue is with the parts department. You receive a 12/12,000 on any new part bought over the counter. The parts side of the house considers you a parts customer, like any indy mechanic. You indicate that the you have had the part for less than a year--how about the mileage? Below 12,000 from mileage at purchase? Actually 12,000 is not much of an issue as the MOPAR warranty used to state that is was 12/12000 which ever was more advantageous to the customer. You have a winner in that you have had the part less than 12 months.

mileage was about 11,000, installed in may. dont have an issue with parts department, part was replaced free.

Originally Posted by BLUEH20

Have the Indy repair shop return the failed fan to the Chrysler Parts Department, with their purchase receipt and your mileage and get the new part under MOPAR warranty.

now im really not sure what you are trying to prove here. the part, even though i bought it from a different shop, still has the 12/12000 MOPAR warranty. thats why i didnt have to rebuy the part fool.
i got the same mopar warranty, just because a different shop bought it . . .

Originally Posted by BLUEH20

One more question--what kind of warranty did "tuffy" give you on the original repair?

90 days on labor. and the 12/12000 THAT IT COMES WITH

Originally Posted by BLUEH20

The Labor cost is between you and the "Tuffy". Chrysler is not involved. Put it in. Get down the road.

LOL @ 'the tuffy'
first off, the reason why i go to 'the tuffy' is because they are within walking distance, (so i can drop my car off and walk home) and they go out of the way to keep me as a customer with things like discounts and free diagnostics. also they talk to me like a human, and i get to figure out whats really going on with my car.

last time i took it to the stealership, they tried to tell me that i needed new rotors because the pads were so worn down they made grooves in the rotors and they were too badly damaged to turn.

well being that im not as slow as i (apparently) appear, i felt the rotors. when they were as smooth as a babys ass, i decided that i wasnt going back again. that was the last time i took it there, but NOT the first.

and you know what? i think chrysler is involved. dont much care what you think, my thoughts are that the same part shouldnt go bad this often. and i have to pay out of pocket because of it? last time it killed my AC too. sorry, i dont agree with you.

[sponge9012]

Originally Posted by nevinsrt

wow that sucks!!! freaking stealership!!!

if your looking to upgrade your T-stat.

a 180deg T-stat can be purchased at Napa

part # 153

hey thanks, i think i might do that.