I think its the thermostat

96 monte carlo is overheating quickly and smoking, the gauge inside the car goes from normal temp to hot and back and forth. It is also making the coolant i put in magicly disappear. Ive been told that it is the thermostat. I bought a new one to replace. Going to do it in the morning. Any thoughts or tips or anyone think it might be something else wrong with it. I know nothing about cars but how to check the oil and where to put in the gas. Ive read several entries here and think i have a general idea of what im doing. Any tips or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

i dunno why the coolant would disappear. i would check for a leaking intake or worse case a blown head gasket. check to see if the oil is up much higher than it should be on the dipstick or if it is at all milkly in color.

You're an idiot. For not reading.

It needs new intake manifilod gaskets, pronto. DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR.

You're an idiot.

i haven't changed out the thermostat yet. it seems easy enough i just haven't gotten to it. the antifreeze isn't leaking out as fast as i thought it was. thanks for the advise so far. i will check those things out.

You're an idiot. For not reading.

It needs new intake manifilod gaskets, pronto. DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR.

You're an idiot.
That's not very nice. You could have left off the "idiot" remarks and just casually mentioned it could possibly have an intake leak. She said in her post she knew nothing about cars, and was going on the advice of what other people were saying. That's not the proper way to treat new members on this forum. They come here to learn, not be ridiculed. How would you like it if you came on this site looking for advice and were called an "idiot"? I'm sure you knew as much as her when you were starting out.

the oil looks fine and i agree he could have left out the idiot. although i am an idiot when it comes to cars. but thanks for saying something about it. i don't understand why people must be so rude or hateful. should i still have it checked out b4 replacing the thermostat even if the oil doesn't seem to have any coolant in it? also changing the thermostat seems like an easy enough job but locating it isn't. is there anywhere that has a dummy's guide to tell me where everything is or a picture or diagram that might help guide be through locating certian parts of the car? This is just a fun car and even if i have to change out the other parts i would like to attempt this on my own. i bought this car super cheap and so far its a great little extra car. i would rather not sink too much $ into it, and i also no longer want to be an idiot. This is kinda a lerning experience for me. thanks to everyone for all the help even the guy that called me an idiot, at least he was trying to help. it might have just made him feel better about himself to put some poor defencless stay at home mom down for not knowing everything about cars like he does.

well we are all wrong. had mechanic look at it he says i need a new water pump. i guess im not the only idiot. so guess i will be replacing water pump. any tips would be appreciated. thanks to all that helped.

well thats great that it is just the water pump. that will definatly be cheaper to fix. its really not to bad to change. i had to move my power steering pump out of the way but i have a 3.8 engine, but all you need is a general knowledge, hand tools, and time. you can do it. if this "idiot" j/k haha can do it anybody can. keep us up on it. later. P.S. nobody deserves to be slandered on this forum.(you know who im talking too) If you havent got anything good to say dont reply.most people come here for help and to maybe one day be blessed to know as much as you o mighty car god.

be sure to look closely at the intake gaskets while the water pump is off.........any sign of leakage is cause for alarm, and the chances are increased if the engine has overheated a few times. A tiny leak now can lead to a siezed engine the future. just a thought from a fellow idiot.......lol

My '96 had the same problem, even after I replaced the waterpump...I thought it was just the pump too, but apparently a lot worse happened from the overheating those few times. I had a huge loss of coolant and overheated quickley not to mention the BLOWN head gasket where I found the coolant was going. It boils on the block and intake and most it seems to disappear , like you mentioned. Anyways mabey have your mechanic install a radiator fluch kit ($5) and run a head gasket sealer through I recomend one by "Cargo"(about $10) but I hear its the best, and I know it worked for me so. FYI - unless replaced, your '96 comes factory with a different anitfreeze so be sure your not adding regular. My radiator was so dirty and clogged looking when i got it, so Another reason to flush it out and replace coolant. If your Monte is still performs the disappearing coolant trick thats a cheap fix.