'91 Ranger runs too cool

Have you checked the water temp with a thermometer in the filler neck after running for a while?

I have a 1991 Ford ranger (2.3 4-Cyl) that will not warm up into it's normal operating range. The temp guage is working, and I have replaced the thermostat in the cooling system three times now, with no change. Or rather, my mechanic has (and yes, I've watched him do this, he's honest).

Yet still, unless the outside temperature is at least 75° to 80° F or warmer, the engine stays "cool". This kills my gas mileage when it happens, and I'm sure it isn't doing the engine much good either to be running at an inefficient temperature.

Has anyone else encountered this problem? What was the cause? Both my mechanic and I are stumped. The Haynes manual gives no answers except the thermostat or the guage, and we've eleiminated these possibilities. Is there anything else that could cause this?

Thanks for your time.

Hi,

I had an '83 and '93 Ranger, both with the 2.3, both did the same thing in spite of new thermostats. Only time either temp guage went to the middle of the scale was when idling in Vegas in summer with AC on, during winter I had to put cardboard in front of half of the radiator to warm them up. Basically, they got a radiator thats as big as some V6 and probably V8s.

Good thing is it will never overheat.

The thermostat keeps water in the engine block until it gets hot enough to open. The temp sensor is in the engine block. It stands to reason that a large radiator has no effect on the engine block being able to get up to temp.

I have a 1991 Ford ranger (2.3 4-Cyl) that will not warm up into it's normal operating range. The temp guage is working, and I have replaced the thermostat in the cooling system three times now, with no change. Or rather, my mechanic has (and yes, I've watched him do this, he's honest).

Yet still, unless the outside temperature is at least 75° to 80° F or warmer, the engine stays "cool". This kills my gas mileage when it happens, and I'm sure it isn't doing the engine much good either to be running at an inefficient temperature.

Has anyone else encountered this problem? What was the cause? Both my mechanic and I are stumped. The Haynes manual gives no answers except the thermostat or the guage, and we've eleiminated these possibilities. Is there anything else that could cause this?

Thanks for your time.

I have a '91 Explorer and it never seemed to warm up enough. My wife was complaining about the heater not getting hot enough this past winter so I put in a 198 degree thermostat. Seems to have helped.

- -

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

"May you have the winds at your back, And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris'Z Corner

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (Chris Zacho "The Wheelman") wrote in news:21583- snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3253.bay.webtv.net:

possibilities.

those require the correct thermostat. the generic parts store ones have too big of seep hole in them and that is enough to keep them too cool. KB also I would check the actuall temp the eng is getting too with a inferared thermoter.

those require the correct thermostat. the generic parts store ones

sometimes ya got to go to the Ford store....

john

My 1994 with 4.0 V-6 does not get very warm either. Have tried using Genuine Ford parts and still nothing seems to make any difference.

Clay wrote in news:6dc04e60-382c-4eb7-aea2- snipped-for-privacy@z8g2000prd.googlegroups.com:

your 94 is old enough to have a parcial blocked heater core. have you flushed or reverse flushed the core? If not I would try that first. if the first bit comes out black then it is probley the heater core. Most

Good advice Kevin. The heater puts out plenty of heat. I flush the system every two years and replace the coolant with a 50/50 mix.

The problem is not the heater core being too cool. The problem is the engine runs too cool.