engine wont heat up!!!!!!!!

Hi all and a merry Christmas, got a 2.0 litre sierra soc pinto, and for some time now it does not get very hot like it use to, so I have fitted a new thermostat from Fords, and it is still the same, now what else could it be and I don't think its the gauge as the heat from the blower is only warm and temp gauge sits just above the first solid white bit on the gauge, say about

4 o'clock not in the middle of the norm say 3 o'clock bit like it use to !!!!!!!

Could it be a dodgy stat or does someone know any better..

Rich

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Reply to
Rich
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When you replaced the thermostat was it the mechanical one that controls flow to the radiator or the electrical temp sender for the gauge? You may have a stuck thermostat so your are constantly pumping water round the radiator this will slow the heating up significantly.

Reply to
Depresion

: Could it be a dodgy stat or does someone know any better..

Silly question, maybe, but does it have enough water in? My daily driver is losing water slowly, and the sign that I have to do something about it is when the temperature guage and heater both run a bit cold - it means that the water level has fallen enough that the sender is out of the flow and the heater isn't filling properly. Meanwhile, other bits are getting a wee bit too warm ...

Ian

Reply to
Ian Johnston

Ah, sorry the stat I changed was the wax one in the t/stat housing by the cam belt. Have had a new main rad about 2 years ago and a water pump since then it has never got to the norm position that it use to 3 o'clock on the gauge but in the summer in the hot weather in stationary traffic it will creep up to hot !!! but in the cold weather it wont get hot and I am getting fed up with sitting in a cold car going to work :-((((

Rich

Reply to
Rich

No sorry correct level of water and antifreeze mix so I am at a loss next step is to change the t/stat again !!!

Rich

Reply to
Rich

If you check the thermostat and it's ok, I would check the pump, it's possible the impeller has failed. Although if it had then I would have expected the engine to have died by now.

Mike

Reply to
MSC

Good idea, sounds like it is stuck open. Just 'cos it's new doesn't prevent it from being faulty. You could cover the radiator with a piece of cardboard until you get around to replacing it. DaveK

Reply to
davek

haven't lived with many pinto's then have you mate :) have you checked the heater matrix? if it's blocked it won't get hot so thats the first point of call flush it through then reverse flush it through

someone said that putting washing up poweder in the cooling system cleans it up like brand new over the corase of a few days but i don't kno who it was of which thread it was in

the second one is the fact that you might have the wrong temp sender fitted make sure you have the right colour for the engine and dash ebcause they are all calibrated to each other

Reply to
dojj

Could it be in upside down?

Reply to
Taz

No sorry cant go in upside down anyway I know how they should be fitted thanks

Rich

Reply to
Rich

Hi Mike had Cortinas and Sierra's for best part of 20 years !!!!!!!

Flush the interior heater matrix and main rad every couple of years, and replace the coolant / antifreeze to keep every thing nice a clean. Not that, as the actual engine does not seem to get hot, the temp sender is matched to the gauge as that was changed some years ago, could only be the stat, ( wrong temp range, but was got from Fords think 92C springs to mind, correct me if I am wrong ? ) but one thought would the viscose engine fan have any effect if it was playing up, but then the stat should shut to keep the engine hot shouldn't it ????

Rich

Reply to
Rich

the viscous fan will either over cool the engine and sound like a jet engine to boot :) or it won't do anything as the clutch internals have gone south and it will just spin up at whatever revs a cold engine would be producing

if we look at it as an engine overcooling problem we need to make sure that the heater matrix isn't being bypassed because it's clocked and that the temp sender is the right one

the easiest way to do this, I would think, would be to ditch the stat and give it a good running to see if there is any problems afterwards if there are then it's almost certainly the stat otherwise you need to be looking at other avenues to explore

Reply to
dojj

So this would account for over heating in the summer in traffic, right!!!

Can only suspect the stat as the cooling system water is very clean and the colour of the coolant, does not loose water either. will check engine temp by laser gun when I get a chance to, will keep all posted as to what the results are, but I am grasping at straws, will get a nother stat and go from there.

Thanks

Rich

Reply to
Rich

yup :) and anyone with some sort of degree of common sense would say not to do the following which is exactly what i am telling you to do the old school way to test if a viscous fan is working or not is let the engine warm up for about 10 minutes worth of driving then you let it run on for a few more minutes in the mean time you get yourself some welding gloves on your hands you then proceed to stick your hand (the one with the welding glove on) into the fan blades to see if they will stop rotating if they do then there is your problem if they don't then you have lost a bit of life on the welding gloves like i said, not something i would recommend anyone doing (just because i've got away with it 3 or 4 times in the past 15 years doesn't mean you will)

Reply to
dojj

LOL Well, as I don't have any common sense, the next bit obviously does not apply to me then !!!! what you describe, is what I have done in the past, and can vouch for the testing procedure, not that anyone should do it ever, this IS VERY DANGEROUS, when starting from cold, say this morning once engine is running, you get the "Volvo roar" for a few mins then it stops, the point at which the fan blades are just coasting, many years ago I could get this roar in summer in traffic, so this would indicate the fan had locked up because of the heat transfer up the pump shaft to viscous coupling on fan, and after a while it would then stop, and start coasting again, this I presume is the correct operation of said fan. But it has not done this for some time :-( In the next couple of weeks I intend to sort this out once and for all as I want a hot car again !!!

Rich

Reply to
Rich

that's EXACTLY what it hsold be doing when it's in proper operation :)

Reply to
dojj

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