which thermostat shud I use??

Use the high temp stat - a colder stat will give less heat, and the heater gets full flow even with the stat closed. You likely have a restricted heater core - or possibly a bad heater valve or slipped air mix control.

Actually i think you will find that by changing the thermostat to a different temperature range the coolant WILL increase in temperature. not by such an amount that you will notice a better heater however but nonetheless i think you need educating "BOB".

having said that its more likely as the previos poster mentioned that your heater matrix core may be partially blocked providing your cooling system is working correctly.

Steve.

RZ opined in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

HEy...I do that too sometimes. Goes with the territory! Get a skin!

The stock unit is 192 by the auto engineers for a variety of reasons... and the number signifies the nominal coolant temperature.

Lower temps promote sludge in oil and less than optimal emissions efficiency.

use the one that is specified by ferd

It could be more than what you think. The blend door may be stuck or not opening all the way. The heater core could be plugged. I would have your heater core flushed. Now as i recall, some ford 3.0's of that vintage were prone to engine block rusting or such and had some problems. Keep in mind if you power flush it with chemicals, you might be looking at new freeze plugs or a heater core in the future. Its a roll of the dice. And either of those is going to cost you.

You might pull up "Alldata" and check. SO your car could need a angioplasty ;)

You need to find the cause and not bandaid it. Every taurus 3.0 i have owned had more than enough heat. How hot does your temp gauge say it is?

Bob

There is no advantage to masking a problem by changing thermostats. You are doing yourself NO FAVORS by putting in a colder thermostat. Figure out what is wrong with your cooling system and/or heating/venting systems.

Are you sure that you coolant level is filled properly? If it is low you wont have proper heating in you heating system, due to lack of heated coolant flow.

Heater matrix core..... wtf is that? Must be some kind of new terminology I've never heard of.

It is very clear that the OP doesn't have the first clue about how his cooling system or heater work. Like I said he needs to learn that before he starts throwing "wrong" parts at it. Otherwise he will only make a bad situation worse.

The first thing he needs to do is make sure the engine is reaching operating temp or 192 deg. Putting a cooler stat in will not allow that to happen.

Second he needs to make sure he has good coolant flow through the heater core, I've ran into several Taurus's with plugged cores.

If he still doesn't have heat he's got a problem with the blend door not closing all the way or some other air flow problem.

It's pretty simple stuff but apparently over both of your heads.

"BOB"

RZ opined in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

Hey... it just occurred to me what you were really saying there...

The heater circuit bypasses the thermostat. As you would know if you paid attention... the heater hoses warm up long before radiator hose does.

You could try a reverse flush...

I have a 1996 Taurus GL 3.0L OHV vulcan engine....I've noticed that the heater doesn't provide warm air like it used to last winter, so I am changing the thermostat tomorrow....the stock thermostat opens at

192 degrees, but I want warm air in the cabin sooner, so I bought a factory thermostat that opens at 180 degrees....should I be replacing the thermostat with one that is 192 degrees or am I OK to use the one that opens at 180 degrees?? Am I doing any harm to my engine by using one that opens sooner?

thanks

thanks to everyone except Bob....this newsgroup is an excellent way to "educate" oneself. The experience that is shared is a limitless weath of useful information.. again, thanks to everyone....except Bob "

the fact that the heater pipes are fed bypassing the thermostat is immaterial, it simply means they will be fed warm coolant before the thermostat actually opens, and by replacing a thermostat with one of a different temperature range then the coolant in the head and block, which is where the heat comes from will not be the same since it will transfer to the radiator at a different temperature. hope that is simple enough for you bob. by the way europeans refer to the heater unit as a matrix, maybe you havent heard of this terminology bob, but hey, you surely dont know everything do you ???

You're right....... I certainly don't know everything, but I haven't seen any evidence that you know anything. "Bob"

someone opined

Hmmm.. reminds me of a quote:

"Dont bother me with the facts... I'm talking about details, here!"