I noticed that I do not get much heat out of this truck with these cold fall days. Takes a long time for it to get warm it seems. I also noticed that the factory temp gauge stays a constant cold.

I replaced the factory gauge and added an aftermarket mechanical gauge.

After driving about 24 miles, about 40 min drive, giving it time to idle also, the temps didn't go up much at all.

It took about 30 min for the gauges to even start moving up and they didn't get up to the temp shown below until after the drive and idling in the driveway.

Now my question is either the thermostat stuck open, or is having the T fitting and extension out causing a reduction in heat from whats shown and actual.

4" extension with T fitting on the end for factory sender and aftermarket.



after the drive and idling temp reads


factory one now works, but still low temps



I also noticed some liquid around cyl 1 glow plug and what looks to be like the fuel return likes saturated in fuel. Possibly this is the cause of my hard cold starts?

 

It's probably stuck open. i had similar results with a stuck open thermostat. To make sure my new replacement worked, i dropped it into a pot of boiling water to see how it worked. Sure enough it opened. Once replaced, I had proper engine temps.

I don't think your tee has much to do with it.

 

having a temp sender teed off like that means that you have no water flow at the sender, so it'll be very slow to respond, and probably read low the whole time. also, the teflon tape on the fittings can sometimes cause enough of an electrical resistance that it'll cause a lower gage reading.

but the lack of heater output does point to a stuck thermostat. as you know, only buy motorcraft for this

 

It is a mechanical water temp gauge for the aftermarket one, so resistance should not matter for this case. Now the flow is a good point but how off could I expect it to be? 150 seems pretty low, even for being out of the flow.

 

that probably wont hurt much.might toss you off 1 or 2 degrees at most lol.
the main point is,you know your t-stat is stuck open.motorcraft rt1049
the t-stat is 192 degrees and you should be running 195-200ish temps normally (with 240ish being the safe max under load) with lots of heat in the cab inside just a few miles.
besides the low cab heat,by running the engine only around 140-150 like that,your fuel economy is suffering too.

 

Yeah I seem to get around 13-14 around town(which is mostly country hilly roads). It is N/A too. It could be off a little bit by the bigger tires. 315/75/16

Ill have to make a trip to ford soon!

I wish I would of changed it when I did the radiator in the summer >.<

 

Well I went to ford and bought a new thermostat. I was wondering while it was off should I move the temp sensor so I don't have a T fitting? I think there is a port on the back of the driver side head towards the firewall but facing the fender right by the exhaust? Would that work or should I just leave it where it is at?

Also, Since I just replaced the radiator and the coolant do I have to drain the system again or can I just pull the hose off and let it drain to the level of the thermostat.

 

I agree. T stat is $5 and two bolts change it first. Most people think that tstats are there to keep engines cool but they don't they keep them warm. until they stick closed.

 

Little more than that. Couple bolts for the alternator and then the housing. Also the thermostat was 16 from ford >.>

 

I put my aftermarket gauge in a plug I found right under the oil fill cap at the base of the timing gear housing. It works great

 

Right above the water pump? That couldn't work since the line for the gauge just barely reaches where its at now. It was a close call. That is one of the reasons I used the 4" extension out. It also cuts it close the the bracket for the A/C.

If the line for the gauge got kinked from that sharp bend would it still give a temp reading but be off or would it just not read at all?

 

being mechanical if it kinked it probably won't work... especially if it gets a hole in the line... i had to replace one mechanical temp gauge thanks to a live wire coming loose and falling on it... but its all good its fixed now but if you kink it it more than likely won't work at all

 

Now should I leave it where it's at or change it to another spot when I do the thermostat?

 

i would probably move it. there are quite a few ports on these heads where you can tap in. look at where the heater hose returns to the right head, then look for a port in the same place on the left head. thats probably where i would go, its accessible and closer to your gage so you aren't stretching your line

 

I'm thinking ill shoot for the one on the far back side of the driver head.