How long till its supposed to warm up?

[philjw90SHO]

I have a 1992 MTX with 106,000 miles and I was just curious how long it usually takes for a 3.0 to heat up to normal temp. Mine takes about ten to fifteen minutes and goes abot to the M in Normal. Is this okay or a potential problem with the thermostat.

Thanks

 

[SHO_Driver]

Its normal for the SHO. I also had to get used to seeing the temp needle always in the lower quarter.

 

[sdpatt]

Do you have an 88C (190F) thermostat in your engine? The "M" is the usual reading for the higher 3.2L thermostat. The 82C (180F) t-stat in the 3.0L usually has the needle positioned around the "A-L" or lower range. The SHO engine is very efficient thermally and even with a properly working thermostat may take 5-10 minutes or more to heat up to normal water temperatures. It may take even longer depending upon the outdoor temperature and the energy generated by the engine to motivate the car. There is a chance that the thermostat is not completely sealing when closed and extending your warm-up duration.

 

[AutoSHO]

philjw90SHO:
I have a 1992 MTX with 106,000 miles and I was just curious how long it usually takes for a 3.0 to heat up to normal temp. Mine takes about ten to fifteen minutes and goes abot to the M in Normal. Is this okay or a potential problem with the thermostat.

Thanks

My car, which I just installed a new thermostat in 2 days ago, takes approximately 4 1/2 to 5 minutes of constant throttle 2,000 rpms driving before the thermostat opens to begin coolant flow. Sounds like your thermostat may have deteriorated enough to allow coolant to bypass it even while cold. New thermostats are very cheap!

 

[WaterRooster]

My problem is that when I am driving, sometimes it will go all the way up to the N, then the fan kicks in and brings it back down to the L. All during that time my heat is on, but only blows cool air. Thermostat ?

 

[AutoSHO]

WaterRooster:
My problem is that when I am driving, sometimes it will go all the way up to the N, then the fan kicks in and brings it back down to the L. All during that time my heat is on, but only blows cool air. Thermostat ?

It sounds like you might have a lot of air in your cooling system. I would start by replacing the thermostat, and following this procedure to bleed the cooling system: SHOtimes Coolant Fill Procedure

Have Fun!

 

[shojuan]

AutoSHO:

philjw90SHO:
I have a 1992 MTX with 106,000 miles and I was just curious how long it usually takes for a 3.0 to heat up to normal temp. Mine takes about ten to fifteen minutes and goes abot to the M in Normal. Is this okay or a potential problem with the thermostat.

Thanks

My car, which I just installed a new thermostat in 2 days ago, takes approximately 4 1/2 to 5 minutes of constant throttle 2,000 rpms driving before the thermostat opens to begin coolant flow. Sounds like your thermostat may have deteriorated enough to allow coolant to bypass it even while cold. New thermostats are very cheap!

My car takes 2.5 minutes to warm up to normal operating temperature from dead cold. This is since I completely flushed the system, started using 30% coolant and redline water wetter along with the revised 190F motorcraft thermostat. I think there's a reason Ford switched to the hotter thermostat with the ATX SHOs. The 180 thermostat makes the car take too damn long to heat up! This car has been in my family since it was new back in the summer of 89. A good portion of that time the car took about 10-15 minutes to heat up. That's too long. Every new lexus and toyota in the family heats up quick. Not the SHO as it originally came. I think Ford realized it's mistake and switched from a 180F thermostat to a 190F thermostat because they realized some fine tuning of the cooling system was in order.

Another thing, a lot of scale builup on your block and heads will slow down heat transfer and prolong heat up time.

Rick

 

[SHOZ123]

A car with a 192F t-stat will reach 180F at the same time as if it had a 180F t-stat if every thing else is equal.

If your engine is taking longer than 5 minutes at highway speeds to warm up the t-stat is leaking.

192F t-stats are used to improve the emissions that the engine generates.

<small>[ October 25, 2002, 10:14 AM: Message edited by: SHOZ123 ]</small>

 

[3taps]

My situation:
Just had 60k done which included temp sender, and 190 thermostat. prior to 60k vehicle ran cool about the r/m at all times when warmed up. the auxiliary fan only came on when stopped in traffic on very hot days. temperature would be fairly consistent. Now, the temperature always reaches the point where the fan is coming on. the temperature will fluctuate from the "m" while on the highway and when I stop at a light, or at slow speeds it will climb within 10 seconds to the point where the fan will come on. the fan will come on for about 10 seconds, temperature will drop, 1 minute later fan comes back on and repeat. WHATS UP? took it back to the shop. Was told the vehicle is supposed to run hot? I have never had a fan come on so frequently on any car. I have owned this vehicle for 6 years and it never did this before. Also the low coolant light comes on but the level is fine seems the sensor inside the overflow reservoir is bad.Is the coolant light somehow connected to the temp gauge? This vehicle has a 3 year old radiator, 2 week old water pump, 1 day old radiator hose, new air filter.I can actually feel more heat eminating from the engine compartment.

sorry for long post, but I am getting frustrated.

 

[3taps]

My situation:
Just had 60k done which included temp sender, and 190 thermostat. prior to 60k vehicle ran cool about the r/m at all times when warmed up. the auxiliary fan only came on when stopped in traffic on very hot days. temperature would be fairly consistent. Now, the temperature always reaches the point where the fan is coming on. the temperature will fluctuate from the "m" while on the highway and when I stop at a light, or at slow speeds it will climb within 10 seconds to the point where the fan will come on. the fan will come on for about 10 seconds, temperature will drop, 1 minute later fan comes back on and repeat. WHATS UP? took it back to the shop. Was told the vehicle is supposed to run hot? I have never had a fan come on so frequently on any car. I have owned this vehicle for 6 years and it never did this before. Also the low coolant light comes on but the level is fine seems the sensor inside the overflow reservoir is bad.Is the coolant light somehow connected to the temp gauge? This vehicle has a 3 year old radiator, 2 week old water pump, 1 day old radiator hose, new air filter.I can actually feel more heat eminating from the engine compartment.

sorry for long post, but I am getting frustrated.

 

[SHOZ123]

Your fan is suppose to come on at 215F and shut off at 210F. This is what it appears to be what is happening.

What brand of T-stat do you have? Are you sure all the air is out of the system and is the jiggle valve positioned at 12 o'clock? What is the outside temp when this is happening? Do you have a good clean connection at the ECT (2 wire)? Is the ECT the temp sender that got changed or the sender for the gauge?

<small>[ October 25, 2002, 01:43 PM: Message edited by: SHOZ123 ]</small>

 

[3taps]

I dont know what thermostat brand, SHO shop here in huntington beach did the work. As to which temp sender they replaced, it was the one that they include in the 60k. What is a Jiggle Valve? The temperatures have been in the 70's here in Orange County. Tom at the shop said everything is o.k. I dont know maybe I am being paranoid, Just not used to the gauge fluctuating so much.