Van is overheating and fluid is coming out of the overflow area, changed the thermostat, and when we let the system bleed it was bubbling and spewing significantly, the resevewar never went down, but could continusly add more fluid, fluid is pink, and thick

a blown head gasket

is it boiling or bubbling big difference but sounds like there's air getting in system or exhaust gases more info would be a big help is car overheating ?

Well Michael put your hand on radiator upper hose and then the lower hose right after car warms up and just starts overheating is there a temperature difference if so one of two things is going on thermostat not opening even though it is new or there is still an air bubble in the cooling system if nthere is no difference and still overheating might have to explore headgasket being blown

replace thermostat.then bleed coolant system, this is how you do it.fill the cooling coolant system with 50 / 50 dexcool and water to raise boiling point,straight water will evaporate boil away cause engine to overheat catch fire thats why you need 50 / 50 mixture antifreeze and water.to bleed coolant system first fill coolant system until coolant stay at the full cold mark on the the coolant overflow jug,then you start engine allow it to idle,place the heater and ac control in any ac setting except max and the temperature control to the highest setting,run engine until lower hose to water pump is hot. with the engine hot run the engine speed up to 3000 rpm and allow it return to idle, repeat this 5 times. slowly open the bleed valve on the thermostat housing or look for bleed valve at the water pump heater hose.open bleed valve for 15 seconds to expel any trapped air.then top off the coolant as necessary,and when top radiator hose hot thermostat open up.keep adding cooling to overflow until coolant level stop at full cold mark dont over fill coolant.if engine seem like overheating while looking at cooling gauge turn off engine wait a while until cool off add more coolant until coolant level stay stable and dont drop any.when open radiator overflow cap use large rag over the radiator cap to keep from getting scald open radiator cap a little at a time but dont open radiator cap until engine cool down first.replace the radiator overflow cap, thermostat,and engine coolant temperature sensor and check the cooling fans fuses and relays see what happens.

there can be air pocket somewhere you need to bleed system properly. rais the front let is idle bleed it thru bleeding screw. be sure that bubbles are over.

air pockets prevent coolant travel inside system. so it may not reach to radiator, or cabin heater or both.

The thermostat is the quickest and cheapest thing to replace. Follow the upper radiator hose back to the housing. It is located beneath it. I would try that first.

If you are seeing signs of radiator fluid on the ground directly under the radiator fan area, then your waterpump is going, or has already gone out. Unfortunately, you have to remove the timing cover and belt to change it.

check fluid level in radiator are you leaking fluid on ground does cooling fans come on if they dont check fuse for fans if fuse is good inspect wires going to fans are fan motors bad is water flowing thru engine anfter thermostat opens if notcould be bad water pump is there water on your oil dip stick if so blown head gasket dont keep driveing hot

yes, if the water pump is bad, input hose will be hot output hose will be cool, but that also could mean a bad thermostat.

a way to see if the water pump is pumping coolant is to remove the bleed screw on the thermostat housing and see if coolant spews out.

But it overheats. may as well change out the water pump and get rid of the original plastic impellers. While you're there, replace the thermostat with a 12 degree cooler one and drill 2 3/16" holes 180 degrees from each other in the thermostat.

2.8L motors are sensitive to overheating. you can bust a head gasket this way in no time. Also warp that long cylinder head.

Without more information, it is possible you have a air bubble in the coolant or a blown head gasket. Check the exhaust for smells of coolant (sweet) and the oil for signs of coolant as well, it will look like a milkshake. If you notice an excessive amount of visible bubbles in the overflow tank then more than likely you have a head gasket problem and the cooling system is being pressurized from the leak. To bleed the coolant system, remove the radiator cap and start the car and you should observe small bubbles rising to the top, again if there is an excessive amount then you have a head gasket problem.

there is a coolant cap on the overflow bottle check it for seal
i'd just replace it
also if you put the new thermostat in backward the overheating would be significant