I'm in NY, gets cold here. My 96 Turbo developed a new habit of not getting hot while driving. Only if idling a while will the engine temp come up from baseline, and as soon as I hit highway speeds it drops to just above baseline. Slow speeds/surface streets bring it back up a bit, but not to the normal temp which is closer to just under half way up the scale.

This has never been an issue in any temps to 0F before. It's an issue now b.c damn thing won't throw heat to warm me up!

Could too much coolant vs water cause this? I think I may have topped off the res. just before winter thinking it probably needed lower capability.

Do I need to roll like the truckers w.a pc of cardboard in front of the rad?!

 

LOL.

1- First check for leaks
2- Check coolant level in the bottle.

If these are ok, I would do BOTH items below:

1- Flush out the coolant and fill it with fresh coolant 50/50 -- 1 brand only.
2- Change the thermostat + new gasket.

 

Your thermostat is stuck open. Replace it thogeter with coolant temp sensor.

 

There are no leaks, so I'm guessing it's the t-stat.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I'll do a search on the site for how to do that, and bug you again if I can't find a guide!

Cheers.

 

Tstat isnt hard to do at all on these cars.

 

Is this same as the level sensor? Don't see a temp sensor on FCP.
http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exe...category_id/88

 

try that one:

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exe...nt+temp+sensor

 

No. Those are 2 different things. FCP link -- it is the sensor at the bottom of the bottle. That's not what what Begovic was talking about. I don't understand why he said "change coolant Temperature sensor". Maybe he knows something I don't.

I do know however that when you mix different types of coolants, this creates blockage gunks / lumps. Changing the thermostat alone sometimes may not be enough.

Thermostat though is the usual cause of your problem.

 

Id agree. try just the thermostat first and see if that fixes your problem. I'm betting it does.

 

Theman: there was a thread in this Forum very recently (maybe even Page 1) that talks about this job.

 

Solid, thanks for your help guys. Got a t-stat en route...

 

Good. Get the gasket as well, if it doesn't come with it.

 

Here are my step by step instructions for doing the t-stat:
http://www.atthetipwebs.com/technolo...thermostat.htm

 

Swapped out the t-stat (FCP-sourced Whaler unit) and that was the problem. Thanks for the help all!