93mtx does not like cold weather

[brandon_oma#692]

car has ran great all summer long.
now that its starting to get cold you cannot drive untill it warms up without revving the **** out of it to take off. 2 weeks ago i could pull out of my driveway without touching the gas.

could this be related to my next problem?

the temp gauge will climb higher than usual (still within normal) but no heat at all then temp will drop to just above cold an then heat works as it did earlier thes fall.

i think my thermostat may be sticking but not sure how to test this.

coolant and oil levels are correct. Once it warms everything seems fine.

it gets old letting it warm up for 20 mins to make my 6 minute commute to work. is this a "normal" warmup time when it is 28F outside?


any advise greatly appreciated

 

[hawkeye18]

Sure seems like your thermostat is whacked. Furthermore, you have air in your system that is not getting let out, more than likely because your radiator cap is no longer holding pressure.

Replace both of them. And replace the coolant while you're in there if you can't remember the last time you did it.

 

[spazmoid]

a 20 minute warm up time is not normal for any temp unless its -45 degrees out or something crazy like that, normal would be maybe 1 minute just to get the fluids moving around.

 

[rubydist]

"Normally" it should take 3-5 minutes to see the coolant gauge start to move off "C". If it takes 20, that confirms your suspicion that the thermostat is bad - it should be fixed asap.