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I recently purchased a 95 F150 6 cyl. The temp rises gradually to about 1/4 of the range and I am assuming that the thermostat has failed in the open position. No sure how long it has been this way but will replace it soon.
Any problems that this could cause. Running too rich, running at lower than designed temps? Any difference in thermostats out there?
Originally posted by TwoF150 The temp rises gradually to about 1/4 of the range
Sounds perfectly normal. No problem. If you're worried, get a Haynes manual and test the thermostat & gauge temp sender by the printed procedure, but I'd say not to worry about it.
The vehicles that I have owned previously came to mid range then opened and the water was circulated and the temp guage went down a little and back up.
If you guys say this is the normal operation for this vehicle it is one less thing to fix.
Sounds normal. Keep in mind our gauges are not laboratory quality. All they can do is tell you...
Cold, cool, wamr, hot, really hot. The reading is all relative. I would only worry if it regularly rode at 3/4 or more. Or, if it takes half an hour of freeway driving to get to 1/4, then I might suspect a bad thermo.
If the heater is running within say 5 minutes of starting and the heat is good, then you are probably fine.
I would change the thermostat either way. Every used vehicle I buy that's the first thing I do is change the thermostat. We're talking about $7.00 and the coolant probably needs flushed anyway. VERY cheap peace of mind.
I had a thermostat get stuck in the open position, and my truck wouldn't even warm up enough to show in the NORMAL range. From what I understand, if it is stuck open, it will take a long time to warm up, if it ever does warm up, and if it is stuck closed, it will warm up to a higher than normal temp, but I would say that if your temp gauge is showing somewhere on the "O" or "R", it is fine.
My 88 F150 5.0 runs just below the N of normal. I just put a new 195 degree thermostat in it and it still runs in the same spot. So I guess thats alright