i am the proud owner of a mini-van? i searched for about 6 weeks and found a good deal on a 2002 chevy venture 6 cylinder automatic 3.4 liter 67,000 miles very clean inside and nice paint, tires ect. they guy wanted $3800, was willing to spend $5000 took it for a drive around the block everything was up to par. checked fluids all clear looked like i was going to get a good vehicle for a good price. drove it home about 7 miles, no issues. took it to the mall and drove around, no problems. so i told the wife im going to drive it to work because i want to drive the new car plus i drive 100 plus miles a day and ill get to see whats doing. i noticed that the temp gauge stays about 1 dash below middle and goes up two dashes over middle. it is sporadic. i drove 23 miles one way to Miami with the gauge at i dash below middle go off the highway and sat through some traffic then i noticed that it went up to to marks above middle. its been doing that for three days. it has never gone any higher that the second mark after center. i am thinking that the thermostat is sticking closed? could the water pump be going bad? there is no weep hole on that pump. i am sure of that i just replaced a water pump on the same motor for my office manager. i bought the truck for 3500 so if i have to spend a couple bucks im not to unhappy. any thoughts?
