2006 Monte Carlo. So today I hop in my car and i get a flashing light on the dash saying engine hot / ac off mind you its 20 degrees out is it the weather or my thermostat I do live in Houston. And its normally hot help.

 

I had the same problem years ago on mine. Replace the thermostat and you will be back to normal.

 

Cool how much was it ...and can I change it myself

 

They are kind of on the expensive side for a thermostat. I want to say it was around $45-50 bucks for the thermostat from the dealer (only place I could find the right part back when it happened to me). Yes you can change it yourself pretty easily. The thermostat is on the left side of the engine (as you're standing in front of the hood looking at the engine) and the bottom where the lower radiator hose connects to the block. Take those two bolts out and coolant will come gushing out and you will have your thermostat in your hands.

When installing the new thermostat, "seat" the new on into the thermostat housing, and then bolt the whole housing/ thermostat back to the block as one piece. The thermostat will basically snap into the housing creating a nice seal on the housing, then the bolts on the housing into the block will draw the whole thing together creating a seal onto the block. Easy job.

I'd drain your radiator while you're at it to completely change all the coolant. It takes 12.2 quarts, so buy two gallons of DexCool and mix it 50/50 with water. I like using bottled distilled water to keep mineral deposits out of my cooling system.

 

So am I using 12.2 quarts of dexcool and 12.2 quarts of water or 6.1 an 6.1 ..sorry but I'm kinda new at this hands on thing

 

6.1/6.1...it's 12.2 total.

 

Awesome