Noob help over heating issue

[TorchedRed03]

My 03 cobra is over heating .. Pretty sure the thermo is stuck closed. Replaced rad cap yesterday let it idle to normal operating temps. Heater wouldn't blow heat. when I spun it around the development quick the read out on the dash went from mid to hot real quick. I'm a totally noob when it comes to cars. Do you guys think I diagnosed the problem correctly? I tried looking at YouTube on how to replace the thermo and i still don't even know where it's located. Yea, that's how much of a noob i am. The one video shows a 4.6 dohc thermo replacement with being under the front end of the car. Then some google images show it being up top, in front of the engine bay. So before I blow my wallet on getting her lifted to "Keith's pit stop" a garage like 10 min from where I'm at in your humble opinion am I in the ball park? Thanks

 

[GT500RedStripe]

Fordparts.com is a good place for you to get exploded diagrams for your car. You can put in your VIN and save it under "my vehicles" for fast reference in the future. Here is a diagram from there that may be helpful:

 

[Why Try]

It is under the car at an aluminum 90 in the coolant lines. Easy to replace but first take out the crossover coolant plug in front of blower (not on blower) and make sure you are full. If you replace thermostat check that plug after.

 

[TorchedRed03]

Do you guys think I diagnosed the problem correctly ?

 

[007snake]

That's the next thing I would replace or have replaced. Keith has very fair pricing if you do not want to tackle it yourself.

 

[Riddick]

With the car running crawl under it and and grab the hose leading to the thermostat and the one exiting it. If they are both warm then its more than likely opening, if one side is warm and the other cold you know its not opening enough. Good luck, be sure to post up what the fix was when you figure it out.

 

[TorchedRed03]

UPDATE.. trailered my cobra in yesterday got her back today. Simple fix, its was the thermo as I initially diagnosed thru my awesome internet research and noob car skills. 124.00 bucks later; coolant add, thermo, thermo seal and 1hr labor I have her back in my cold garage waiting on the spring thaw. thanks for everyone who helped me out and gave me some great advice. Projects like this I would of loved to have tackled myself. After reading about burping the coolant system and having to reset fans? I decided to take it to keiths. NOOB OUT..

 

[gcassidy]

Congrats. Everything you learn about your car will help you understand it more overall.