96 Quest running hot: thermostat ?

[pmkls2]

Hey guys, I got stuck working on my sisters van again and this wasnt actually the problem I got it for but of course it had to act up while I was driving it. I picked up the van today because the p/s went completely inop and the pump was making a horrible noise. They havent driven the thing in a couple of days so it was good and cold. I got going down the highway and was on the road for a good 10 min and went to turn on the heat and noticed it was blowing ice cold air. I immediately looked at the temp gauge thinking that the thermostat was stuck but the temp gauge was ok. Finally a few minutes later the temp started to rise and it went full hot and I was still getting no heat out the vents. Having good success with this unorthodox method with other cars in the past I did the exact opposite of what most people do and I put it in neutral and held the pedal to the floor holding the engine against the rev limiter for a few seconds. Just like I thought the temp dropped immediately to normal and I started getting hot air. I had to repeat this a few times during my trip to keep the temp down. Im pretty sure its just the thermostat but I figured I would ask just to be sure.

[pmkls2]

Well, I found the root of the problem so figured I'd follow up. The cause was the p/s belt idler actually worked itself loose, so . loose that it was just flopping around and not turning the steering pump or the water pump. Simple fix for a big pain in the butt thankfully....