2002 dodge stratus overheating when ac is on. what else can i do to fix it?

May be a bad radiator cap allowing air through

If the radiator cap, thermostat and water pump have all been verified as functioning correctly, the next thing to look at would be a problem with the cooling fans, a cracked head or a bad head gasket....I hope this helps.

seems like you might have a bad head gasket remove radiator cap and let it run. make sure the antifreeze is flowing if not it could be the water pump prop many car makers are using plastic props and they fail with time.also very possible that thermostat is bad was it overheating before it received a radiator ,cap and thermostat if so it is between head gasket.,and water pump but if you have no flow it is possible that the water pump prop is broken .there is head gasket test that can be done most shops have them and cost a little to do.to be sure.

A blown head gasket is likely. Leave the radiator cap off, start car, if bubbles come up in radiator you have a blown head gasket or cracked head. Let me know if this isn't it or if you have more questions.

I could not give you the going rate for your local shops, but if it is like most vehicles it should not cost more than an hour labor and the thermostat should only be a couple of dollars. You can do the job yourself. The thermostat is usually located at the end of the radiator hose that goes into the top of the water pump/engine. Thats the thermostat housing. It is usually held on by two bolts. You just take the radiator hose off the housing, undo the top bolts and the housing should come off. Scrap the old gasket off of the housing and the water pump/block with a razor , pop in the new thermostat and gasket then reattach everything and you should be good to go.

replace radiator cap system depends on good pressure to keep from overheating

Thermostat if water is Running. Cheapest Fix to start with!

Hello, as previously suggested by my collegue it appears you have an air lock. Have you tried parking the vehicle on level ground, from cold with radiator cap off start the car and leave it idling. Make sure the fluid/coolant levels are o.k. and let the engine reach operating temp. Keep some warm water handy and watch/listen the water/coolant system (Keep a safe/sensible distance from radiator) hopefully after a while the system will bubble and boil up let it settle for a few seconds and then top up with very warm water do this until it hopefully stops belching out of radiator. Replace cap and hopefully top and bottom hoses will be warm. Oh! nearly forgot keep all heater controls on hot with blower on full..(Inside the vehicle)
Finally I'm not joshing but is the thermostat in the right way round and functioning correctly? to test drop it in some boiling water it should open almost immeadiatly.
sorry for the epic but I'm here to help and hopefully save you time and money.
Good luck and a Happy New Year to you and your family!
Paul 'W'

try having your radiator pressure checked , or replacing your cap

Raise the front of the car as high as possible with a jack then run the engine and leave the radiator cap off, the air in the system should go to the high point which will be the radiator, don't over heat the engine, after the system is warm put the cap on and fill the recovery tank all the way up, run until it starts to get hot turn if off and leave it up jacked up well it cools, running a hose on the radiator will speed this up. This should cure the bleeding issue or really help.