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temperature gauge jumps up and down?

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Old Dec 1, 2013 | 02:49 AM
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Default temperature gauge jumps up and down?

not too long ago a friend of mine loosen up my radiator cap then he forgets to tighten it back. This is what happened, so without knowing that my radiator cap was loose i was driving my car around for 15 mins. i even went on the freeway. then shortly after that i noticed my temp gauge went up then i sensed a burning smell so i pulled over to pop the hood only to see that the coolant just splashed all over the place then thats when i realized that this guy forgot to tighten my radiator cap when he touched it.

And now after i refilled the radiator and the reservoir with coolant. The temp gauge jumps up and down now. And now i'm not sure if its the thermostat or the water pump is broken. What could be the problem??
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Old Dec 1, 2013 | 04:37 AM
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Nothing is broken as you have air in your coolant system. Burp the system to get all the air out and your car will be back to normal.
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Old Dec 1, 2013 | 08:09 AM
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Buy this:

Lisle 24610 Spill-Free Funnel


It will save you a lot of time. Just do it. DO IT.
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Old Dec 1, 2013 | 08:59 AM
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Don't ever let your friend touch anything under the hood again.
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Old Dec 1, 2013 | 02:50 PM
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is this "Do it Yourself" type thing? or i have to go to a shop for the mechanic to handle this?
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Old Dec 1, 2013 | 03:59 PM
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I say take it to a mechanic since you are unsure.

http://crackaddict.com/~flynn/howtos...amco.howto.htm

https://my350z.com/forum/engine-and-...sh-refill.html

https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance...anual-fsm.html
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Old Dec 2, 2013 | 12:22 PM
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Hey sparco I really appreciate you responding to my post. Well I went to the mechanic and told him what happened then now he's telling me that my gasket might be broken due to the pressure in the coolant system. I don't know if he's just hustling me or is this true?? he told me it was going to cost me around 2k just to get this fixed!! Am I screwed??
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Old Dec 2, 2013 | 01:50 PM
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How hot did it get? If the head gasket was blown there should be other problem that you would notice.
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Old Dec 2, 2013 | 06:17 PM
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hey, well all i remember is while i was driving with the radiator cap loose. i notice the gauge went all the way up to the H. What are the signs if the gasket is blown?? or how does one know if it is blown?

This guy took out my thermostat then installed the hoses back in. He said that if the car still overheats without the thermostat then the gasket is the problem.
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Old Dec 2, 2013 | 08:24 PM
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Is you car still overheating?

From an easy google search:

A problematic head gasket can affect different areas of your car. Because of this, there are many signs of a blown head gasket that you can look for. Some of them include exhaust, oil, and spark plugs. This article will discuss the various signs of a blown head gasket.
Exhaust

Your exhaust will present one of the common signs of a blown head gasket. When you have a gasket leak, you will notice white smoke coming out of your tailpipe. Sometimes drops of water will drop from the end of the tailpipe. The exhaust will also have a sweet smell to it.

Bubbles

Bubbles are also one of the signs of a blown head gasket. A gasket leak will cause bubbles of air to come into your radiator. To check for this, you should first remove the radiator cap then warm up the engine. When you rev the engine, you will see bubbles come out from the top of the radiator.

Oil

One of the next signs of a blown head gasket is contaminated oil. You will notice a milky ring surrounding your oil cap. This is caused by coolant entering the engine oil through the leaking gasket. This mixture leaves the milky ring around the oil cap when it evaporates. You can check for this by taking the car for a short drive, then checking the oil for contamination.

Engine

Lack of engine power is also one of the signs of a blown head gasket. The engine will lack power because of compression loss. The engine will also run poorly and will idle roughly. You should also be careful because the engine will overheat quickly when you have a blown head gasket.

Spark Plugs

Your spark plugs will present one of the last signs of a blown head gasket. If you have green coolant in your system, the spark plugs will have a green tint around them. If the problem is very severe, the coolant may start squirting out of the plug holes.
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Old Dec 3, 2013 | 03:35 AM
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Hopefully it's just air. If you blew the head gasket you sure as hell better be handing the bill to your "friend"

Depending on how long you drove if the head gasket did blow, you could have warped the heads also.
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Old Dec 4, 2013 | 03:14 PM
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The friendship isn't going to last much longer.
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