I love my 03 limited edition but it's dying, and I can't figure it out.
I've owned this car since I bought it online 5 yrs ago and want to fix it myself again before owning a payment.
About a year ago, I was so tired of replacing coolant every other week, then every week...
I bought a Haynes manual when they FINALLY came out for this model and was determined to swap out the gaskets down to the heads because I never found the leak (after backwards flushing and such).
I did that and it didn't help. Unfortunately, when I had it back together, I didn't seat the clamp over the return heater hose. During a trip last Thanksgiving, I punched out of the toll gate and within a mile, the cars heat shot up to the redline and died before I could shut it down.
Since then, I've replaced the water pump, the thermostat, the spark plugs, bled the air pockets out of the engine, and checked about everything I could in the troubleshooting guide.
Now, the car still overheats at idle, but the coolant seems to be running well now. Also, the idle has dropped and is very rough.
Suggestions?
