car running cold!

[frosho]

come on guys keep on the original topic please!

We're discussing thermostats, it's pertinent info...

ok...

suck it up and drive it with no heat like a real man from the north would do...

or

suck it up and take 20min to replace the thermostat.

anyone disagree with this solution?

now back off topic...

Agreed. If it were me, I'd install a new 190 degree tsat.

 

[randy'sho]

ok...

suck it up and drive it with no heat like a real man from the north would do...

or

suck it up and take 20min to replace the thermostat.

anyone disagree with this solution?

now back off topic...

you are classy!

if you read the post again, i was asking if anyone else had the same issues! I know the options!

 

[yamahaSHO]

I am thinking about what I am saying, my first draft of this post was a touch 'douchey' (if that's even a word...lol) my second draft started out with the logic escapes me as well but now that i'm thinking about it, i have this:

the coolant isn't sitting in the radiator, its FLOWING through the radiator. constantly, thanks to the water pump. so it doesn't have time to sit in the radiator like it would with a functioning closed t-stat.

i know i'm not crazy, my wife's car had a broken thermostat with it stuck open and she didn't tell me about it for 2 weeks. she just drove it with the windows down and the heater on because she thought i'd get mad her car was broken (woman logic... now that is tricky...)the car would stay cool when she was moving, but she would drive home on the parking lot known as the I 10 from down town to my place here in Ahwatukee off warner rd, stop and go the whole way and the car would overheat from not moving even with the fan full blast. this caused the car to crack the head, not 5 weeks after i replaced the head when it broke a timing belt.

its the opposite problem randysho is having if you think about it, just switch the word cold for hot, and switch the thinking of having the coolant sitting in the engine to heat up, with sitting in the radiator to cool down.

You are very correct, the coolant IS flowing through the radiator, that's what it does. In fact, once warm, it is almost always 'flowing'. There is quite a bit of surface area to allow the coolant to cool as it goes through it provided it has air flow.

If the car is able to cool while driving but not when sitting in traffic, the thermostat would not be the first suspect. With an open Tstat in cold weather, the engine is likely not to warm up completely or will do so VERY slowly.

 

[Shopower400]

I know it is colder than cold right now in the midwest and I never drive my SHO in the winters, but I am moving this weekend and I have a ??? My sho warms up nicely when I start the car and let it idle for 15 minutes or so, but as soon as i get rolling down the road my temp starts to drop off....like i said, i know that it is colder that a witches **** in a brass bra, but i just thought that i would see what you other northerns thought!

I had the same thing happen w/ my old 94mtx when i lived up in albany NY. Never had any problems other than the heat wouldn't get "piping hot" but it would still get warm. If i set the temp to 90deg., the air coming thru the vent might only be 80deg. But then again this was during a cold snap back in 03' where the air temp alone was -17!

I think the bottom line is you'll be just fine, and the magical intake we all love, LOVES the cold air!:sun:

fyi, my temp needle was right at the 1st dash mark under the 'L'....

 

[smokin joe]

Temp gauge stuck? lol

No I should have said it better, It warms up to the M and then holds it steady, The gauge is not stuck it moves as it should.

 

[SHOhopefull]

Randy, mine does this too...and I'm in Ala LOL! It will warm just fine, (run you outa the damn car LOL) but as soon as I get moving good at any temp below say, 40ish, it bottoms out to about even with C...will still blow "warm" air out the vents, but combined with the "dash vent"? blowing cold air in my face it's hard for the warmth to keep pace LOL

 

[randy'sho]

Randy, mine does this too...and I'm in Ala LOL! It will warm just fine, (run you outa the damn car LOL) but as soon as I get moving good at any temp below say, 40ish, it bottoms out to about even with C...will still blow "warm" air out the vents, but combined with the "dash vent"? blowing cold air in my face it's hard for the warmth to keep pace LOL

have you tried replacing the thermostat and seeing if that helped?

 

[SHOhopefull]

Not yet...when it warms up I'm gonna have to put it up for a while...it needs a LOT of work right now.

 

[llamaking122]

ya i just did mine yesterday. advanced auto had a thermo for 8.79 i think. i had to reuse the rubber thing or buy one (they were out tho). lost maybe a gallon of 50/50 maybe less tho . (used full strength but make sure you cut it 50/50) they had a gollon of full strength for 7.99

 

[randy'sho]

ya i just did mine yesterday. advanced auto had a thermo for 8.79 i think. i had to reuse the rubber thing or buy one (they were out tho). lost maybe a gallon of 50/50 maybe less tho . (used full strength but make sure you cut it 50/50) they had a gollon of full strength for 7.99

and you said that it is better now right?

 

[frosho]

It would make sense that that thermostat is causing your issue, Randy... It's able to warm up while it's sitting because the water pump isn't spinning very quickly at idle. Then once you start driving, the engine is spinning faster, thereby pumping coolant through the block at a higher rate and lowering the temperature.

You could test this theory by warming it up (while parked) and then raising the revs while watching the temp gauge.

 

[llamaking122]

and you said that it is better now right?

yup i did

 

[_JR_]

I recently bought an SHO and havent been able to drive it much. The day i was getting my new suspension installed, i let the car warm up for 10-15 minutes. The windows were all covered in thick frost but no snow. I had the fan at max, heat at 32C (max) and on the defroster. I was getting hot air, the frost would thaw....but my temp gauge didnt move. I thought maybe it hasnt really heated up....so i drove it to the shop (another 15min) and when i got there, the needle still was in the blue rectangle shaped section of the temp gauge. It didnt look like it moved at all. Hopefully i get my car licenced tomorrow and take it for a nice drive on Saturday to see if the gauge moves at all.

I'm either thinking that the gauge doesnt work or the t-stat is fritzy. But if it was the t-stat and i was getting hot air, i would assume its stuck closed. Then the gauge would rise, no?

Since some of you guys have issues with your gauge staying towards the cooler side, maybe thats just how the car is. I'll still have to keep an eye on it to see what happens. Maybe in the spring when its warmer, i might see some changes and work from there.

 

[sdpatt]

It is the function of the thermostat to maintain the temperature of the coolant at the t-stat opening setpoint. If the coolant temp drops when the car is moving through the frigid air, the t-stat is not closing sufficiently to let the engine stay warm. Replace the t-stat and avoid frostbite.

 

[randy'sho]

Yeah I am going to replace it today! Think I am going to go with the OEM 195 degree thermostat!

 

[SHOtimer]

Yeah I am going to replace it today! Think I am going to go with the OEM 195 degree thermostat!

Good idea, those work best with these motors.

Doug

 

[SHOtimer]

I recently bought an SHO and havent been able to drive it much. The day i was getting my new suspension installed, i let the car warm up for 10-15 minutes. The windows were all covered in thick frost but no snow. I had the fan at max, heat at 32C (max) and on the defroster. I was getting hot air, the frost would thaw....but my temp gauge didnt move. I thought maybe it hasnt really heated up....so i drove it to the shop (another 15min) and when i got there, the needle still was in the blue rectangle shaped section of the temp gauge. It didnt look like it moved at all. Hopefully i get my car licenced tomorrow and take it for a nice drive on Saturday to see if the gauge moves at all.

I'm either thinking that the gauge doesnt work or the t-stat is fritzy. But if it was the t-stat and i was getting hot air, i would assume its stuck closed. Then the gauge would rise, no?

Since some of you guys have issues with your gauge staying towards the cooler side, maybe thats just how the car is. I'll still have to keep an eye on it to see what happens. Maybe in the spring when its warmer, i might see some changes and work from there.

...you need to replace your thermostat too. It will get 'warm', but not operating temperature hot. It isn't good for your motor, or esp your cats.

Doug

 

[St Louis SHO]

I'm glad someone finally said what doug said. If the engine doesn't reach normal operating temp the elm will never o into closed loop...

 

[St Louis SHO]

ECM...damn blackbeRry

 

[SHOZ123]

If you are running below the bracket that would be ~ 160F, Bad for gas mileage and bad for engine life as it allows gas to wash the oil off the cylinder walls.