Temperature Problems
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 118
Likes: 0
Temperature Problems
my 1985 f100 efi temp sits right on the "\" on the temp gauge C\normal/H, sometimes it might go a fraction higher but not much. I was having problems with it overheating so I replaced the thermostat (180 degree) I also drained and flushed the radiator and put in coolant in. I now have the opposite problem where I don't think the motor gets hot enough, i am thinking that I should have put a 192 degree thermostat in, the heater seems to be working ok (hot enough) I just don't want to do any damage to the motor by running it too cool, has anyone got any thoughts or advice on this? Is it ok for the motor to run on this temp? I originally had a 160 degree thermostat in the motor which would sit between the C and the \ , I haven't gained a hell of a lot by put the 180 in. I put a new exhaust on this truck (extractors) and the exhasut dude told me he unclogged the cats, so now it flows better, could this have been related to my overheating problems? Thanks
Chris
Chris
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 390
Likes: 0
From: Rose City, MI
In my opinion the factory gauges are a joke. i put a mechanical set in mine because it smelled hot but wasnt showing it on the factor gauge. after i took my cat off it ran cooler. so i imagine cleaning it did some good.
Really all a thermostat does is help the motor warm up faster by keeping the coolant in the engine until it warms up enough to open the thermostat up and let the hot coolant flow into the radiator. I run a 180* thermostat in my truck year round and it runs about 210* on my mechanical gauge. i am thinking about running either a 160* thermostat or no thermostat in the summer and then switching back to the 180* in the winter. just gonna have to wait and see how things go here. There really isnt a way to tell if the truck is actually running hot or not unless you have a good gauge that shows degrees instead of normal.
good luck with it, Ben
Really all a thermostat does is help the motor warm up faster by keeping the coolant in the engine until it warms up enough to open the thermostat up and let the hot coolant flow into the radiator. I run a 180* thermostat in my truck year round and it runs about 210* on my mechanical gauge. i am thinking about running either a 160* thermostat or no thermostat in the summer and then switching back to the 180* in the winter. just gonna have to wait and see how things go here. There really isnt a way to tell if the truck is actually running hot or not unless you have a good gauge that shows degrees instead of normal.
good luck with it, Ben
Last edited by 85F_150driver; May 24, 2004 at 03:29 AM.
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 118
Likes: 0
Yeah i did figure that the gauge could be out, might hook up a good quailty mechanical gauge and find out whats really happening. I might leave it the way it is becuase it is a real pain in the a**e to put a thermostat in , it took me 4 hours on the weekend to do it, 1-2 just getting one single bolt in and out, had to cut a spanner in half so i could get leverage/clearance, what a joke. When i was running the 160 thermostat the engine seemed to run fine only problem was the heater blew warm air, pain in the a**e when wanting to defrost windscreen. Thanks for yor reply.
Chris
Chris
Postmaster
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,854
Likes: 0
I think that stat isn't letting the engine warm up enough....it's always running cool. That has some drawbacks...one being the heater isn't hot enough. More importantly fuel injected vehicles require the engine to get up to a proper temperature, or else it stays in a warm-up mode, meaning it's kinda like running around on choke all the time, so your fuel mileage suffers...not a good time for that to happen!
