1998 Fiesta Heating / Thermostat?

Hi folks.

As it's now bloody cold outside, the heater on my 1998 Fiesta has packed in. It blows out a feeble amount of warmish air while the engine is warming up and until I get up to motorway speeds, but thereafter it reverts to cold, and necessitates woolly jumpers, long-johns, driving gloves and fluffy hats. So I look a pillock but at least I'm warm. It also necessitates me throwing myself on the collective wisdom on u.r.c.m.

Also, at approximately the same time, the engine temperature gauge has also apparently given up the ghost.

Oh, and the fan belt's started shrieking wildly just today, too.

Last serviced about 3,000 miles and 7 weeks ago.

I can't really complain - I've put about 80k miles on the poor thing in

3 years or so and it costs me very little generally so I don't mind getting it fixed, but I thought it wise to counsel opinions before toddling off to my local indie Ford specialist.

A mate reckons it's [quote] "definitely the engine stat" [unquote] but the google searches I've done suggest this ain't necessarily so.

Anything else I could look out for, or that I could easily check for myself before going dahn the garage?

Many thanks in advance

John S.

Reply to
electquill
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Hmm. Has this thing actually got antifreeze in? If you don't know the answer now then check now or you will be looking at a cracked block in the morning.

Fanbelt shriek is either aloose belt or seized waterpump. If the pump has seized - and it's minus six at the moment I'd suspect it's actually frozen.

Reply to
Chris Street

I have had to change several stuck open fiesta crossflow thermostats recently, the replacements are 4 degrees hotter as well. (92degree) This will probably fix the temp gauge too

You probably need a new fan belt to stop the shriek.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

Well, if the engine is so cold that the heater ain't working, could be the temperature gauge is reading correctly? Does it move at all?

To check the thermostat, start the engine from cold and run for a few minutes and feel the top radiator hose. This should be cold and remain so until the thermostat opens.

However, they're cheap so I'd just fit a new one on spec, and change the anti-freeze at the same time.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Also sprach "Dave Plowman (News)" :-

And if that doesn't fix the heater - it may be sludged up. Mine is and the Montego's so long that it's darned cold in the back! The kids are agitating for me to backflush it.

Reply to
Guy King

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