Greetings:

My '96 850 (new to me, and I love it) seems like the cabin heater does not warm up as fast as I would expect. I've noticed also that the engine temp guage does not get above 30% or so whereas previous vehicles for me have alsways had the engine temp guage at 50% when the car is warmed up.

Should I drain coolant? IS this simple?

Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

I would replace the thermostat.

 

I'd replace the coolant too, if the car is new to you there's a good chance it's got old antifreeze in it. When I replaced my old t-stat with a new one the temp didn't go above 1/3 of the way up, replaced the antifreeze and presto it worked fine. I got my t-stat at NAPA for $4 and the antifreeze at Advanced Auto Parts for $9. If you have a clean bucket buy the full strenth stuff and fill 50/50 with distilled water otherwise you can buy the diluted stuff already for the same $9 but you'll probably need 2 gallons of it. It's extremely simple to drain the antifreeze, the hardest part is getting it back in the resovoir without spilling it all over your engine.

 

A new 'stat and fresh coolant should solve the issue.