After replacing the thermostat when idling the engine shakes?

1987 NISSAN HARDBODY
150,000 MILES
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SIR DRAMASTICLY
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Hello and thank you for your time. Okay, so my truck was overheating for quite a while. I don’t drive it much, but when I do, it’s usually for several hours on the highway. It’s getting hotter in Texas and my last trip from Austin to Dallas, I drove most of the way with my heater full blast in order to keep my truck temperature down. I bought a thermostat and I put it in myself. Then started her up to get the fluids going and stuff. But now the engine is shaking something fierce! When idle, once I punch the gas, she runs and sounds normal. It doesn’t quite sound like it’s going to shut off. It definitely was not happening when I drove it yesterday. And I’m the only one that worked on the truck, so I know exactly what I touched and what I didn’t touch. I’m wondering if maybe some of the antifreeze got on some of the sensors and it’s making it freak out? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Jun 26, 2023 at 11:36 AM
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STRAILER
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It sounds more like you have a blown head gasket or a bad fan clutch. I would do a tune up as well for the rough running.

These guides can help you fix the problem:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-overheating-or-running-hot

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test


Check out the images (below). Please let us know what happens.

Jun 26, 2023 at 6:29 PM