car temperature wont heat up

[cgmtboarder]

since i bought my 90 eagle talon, the temperature of the car hardly ever gets to the half way point on the temperature guage. I can drive for an hour before it reaches half way. Usually it stays at around a quarter of the temperature guage on the cold side. Any ideas what would cause this?

 

[eeeewidner]

sounds like you have a thermostat that is stuck open or just not there. that would be the best starting point. Either that or your coolant temp sender for the gauge is sending false readings....

 

[nlzn]

If you replace the t-stat I'd recommend an OEM (from a dealer) one.
I don't know if my local AZ got a bad batch but I had nothing but problems with their t-stats, especially the fail-safe ones.

 

[ESiJohn-95]

Does it seem the heater in the car takes just as long before it starts to blow hot air? If so, then I would agree that your thermostat is stuck open or just not there, as "eeeewidner" stated. Aside from being painful in the winter it could also give you slightly less gass mileage.

 

[DSM1G90]

Some previous owners yank the 't-stat' out so to make the motor run cooler, esp when they're under heavy boost so not to overheat -which right there, they've got a cooling issue with a plugged radiator, weak cap or other conditions.

Or, they've got a bad cap and don't want to fuss with buying a new cap and yank the t-stat out instead.

I found this out the hard way with my ride - radiator was rather full of junk and I overheated coming home on the freeway and it blew the cap-which I found l out later was weak.

Took the radiator out, flushed it out, flushed the block out, put in a new t-stat, 50/50 mix of coolant and cap and I'm go to go

 

[eeeewidner]

If you replace the t-stat I'd recommend an OEM (from a dealer) one.
I don't know if my local AZ got a bad batch but I had nothing but problems with their t-stats, especially the fail-safe ones.

Yeah. I went through about 12 before I got a good one. O.E.M. is the best.

 

[red97gsx]

I never had any good luck with aftermarket t stats either. As stated above check to see of the car builds good heat or not. If in question of whether or not their is a t stat in their, shoot the top and bottom side of the housing with a temp gun after it has been running for a little while and check for a temp difference.

 

[Defiant]

Make sure the coolant actually isn't up to temperature, and that you don't just have a bad temperature sender.

 

[talon187]

My stock gauge was way out of wack and would say it was hot when it wasnt. It sounds like your t-stat is not in working order. Ive ben running a 160 with no issues for awhile now

 

[Turb07]

since i bought my 90 eagle talon, the temperature of the car hardly ever gets to the half way point on the temperature guage. I can drive for an hour before it reaches half way. Usually it stays at around a quarter of the temperature guage on the cold side. Any ideas what would cause this?

Are you running 50/50 coolant and water or just straight coolant?
I have learn the hard way over a winter (which down here isn't as bad as up north) that you have to have some water in with the coolant to make the thermastat actually open and close!
If your thermastat isnt bad or the gauge is still good!

Just my $.02

Turbo

 

[cgmtboarder]

im guessing its just the t-stat stuck open. And the heater takes quite awhile to heat up but it does heat up. And ive been getting horrible gas mileage from my car if anyones got ideas upon why that is?

 

[nlzn]

im guessing its just the t-stat stuck open. And the heater takes quite awhile to heat up but it does heat up. And ive been getting horrible gas mileage from my car if anyones got ideas upon why that is?

I'm not sure if this applies to DSM's but on Nissans (this was a s13 to be exact that I had) when my thermo stuck open it never warmed to operating temp so the ECU ran in close loop still (and ran rich as all hell).

 

[ESiJohn-95]

The reason the faulty thermostat could be causing bad gas mileage is because once a car is started, if the engine is cold, the computer starts dumping more fuel into the engine to get it up to normal operating temperature because this is where it's happy. When a thermostat is stuck open, the water/coolant is constantly travelling from the engine to the radiator and back again, instead of opening only to allow the hot coolant in the engine to get to the radiator to cool slightly before being re-introduced back into the motor.

Replace the thermostat. Go with an OEM unit, the general consensus is that they work best.