Strange occurrence 1994 100CSQ

[Roger M. Woodbury]

Something strange happened on Saturday.

My wife and I had driven the six or seven miles to the annual Town Meeting.
It was a mild, partyly sunny day, with temperatures in the upper forties.
We drove the '94 100CS Quattro Wagon.

After the meeting, about three hours later, we drove toward the next town,
and about six miles or so down the road, I got a low coolant warning, and
noticed that the engine temperature was rising.  I pulled into Walmart and
shut the engine off.

When I got out of the car, I noticed that the left wheels were wet, and I
could smell antifreeze....it was dripping off the wheel wells on the
driver's side of the car.  When I opened the hood, I found the transparent
coolant tank to be full, and the inside of the engine compartment wet with
spilled coolant.

Then there was a clicking noise from one of the boxes in front of the
coolant tank, and one of the coolant hoses was pulsing...like it was gasping
for breath.  Then all was silent, and I could see the coolant level in the
overflow tank dropping down rapidly.

I restarted the engine, and all was normal.  No rising engine temperature,
although I still had the low coolant warning.  I elected to drive home, as
the engine temperature remained in the same place that it always is
according to the thermostat.

When I got home....about four miles....I added a nearly a gallong of coolant
to the resevoir, and all was well.  I drove the car several times the rest
of the day, and everything was normal.  I drove the car yesterday, and there
was no sign of any difficulty with the cooling system.

I suspect that for some reason, the thermostat malfunctioned....failed to
open....and I was wondering if anyone on the list has had a similar problem
with the thermostats in these cars?  There were no other noises or symptoms
of problems or difficulties.  The car has around 51,000 miles.

Roger