Engine won't warm up

This sounds strange, but my car's engine won't heat up. I bought the car new in 1994 and this problem started a couple years ago. It is a 1994 Corsica with a 6-cylinder.

A couple winters ago the heater began putting out lukewarm air. I pulled the PCV valve out of it's hole and noticed milky looking moisture around it, but the head gasket is not leaking, nor is the moisture getting into the oil. Obviously, the moisture is coming from the crankcase because the engine is not heating up enough and it is creating condensation in the crankcase. I can drive a hundred miles on the highway and the engine absolutely will not heat up. If I accelerate hard up a hill the temperature gauge will rise, but when I level out and decelerate it quickly goes back to abnormally cool again. I replaced the thermostat with a Duralast 195 degree thermostat and what happened next was weird. After replacing the thermostat I started the car and watched the temperature gauge (the gauge works) and the gauge went three-quarters of the way up (like it did when the car was new), then fell when the thermostat opened (like it did when the car was new), and the heater put out good heat until I shut the engine off and restarted it. Once I restarted the engine, the engine absolutely would not heat up again, the temperature gauge stayed VERY low and the heater would not put out more than lukewarm air. Thinking that the new thermostat was defective, I replaced it with another new one rated at 195 degrees. It did the exact same thing that the first one did- the engine heated up and the heater put out hot air until I shut off the engine and restarted it. After I restarted the engine, and every time thereafter, the temperature gauge stayed very low and the heater put out lukewarm air. For some reason, I went and bought a third thermostat and installed it. The exact same thing happend again. The third new thermostat caused the engine to heat up but would not do it ever again once the engine had been shut off and restarted.

I have replaced the water pump and flushed the radiator and heater core with no results. This car's engine absolutely will not get hot. (except during the summer it did) Does anyone have any suggestions as to what is causing the problem? I might mention that my EGR valve went bad a few months ago and I plugged the hole beneath it with gasket material to avoid spending almost

300.00 for a new one, but I don't think the EGR valve would have anything to do with the engine running cold. Thanks.
Reply to
j
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Before you spend any more money and time, pull the thermostat and see if it opens at 195 degrees on the kitchen stove in a pot of water. Hot water. Use an infrared thermometer, and you should see it open, and when you put cold water in there or ice cubes, it should close. You can see this. It is mechanical. Wax melts and hardens, melts and hardens, this is what opens and closes the t-stat.

This is step 1. If you don't do this, there is no further suggestion.

Lg

Reply to
Lawrence Glickman

I had the same issue with my pick up. it turned out that the thermostat gasket wasn't holding up and water was getting around it. once I changed it and put a thin film of RTV on it, top and bottom, it would seem to work fine for a day or two...but inexplicably, it would fail again...

upon further review, I compared the old thermostat housing neck to a new one, and the old one had a small edge that was cutting the gasket, allowing it to leak around the 'stat. so I replaced the gasket and housing and no problems since.

the new housing was a lot thicker all the way around and cast/milled completely different.

truck is an 89 Chevy F/S with 4.3L V6.

Reply to
nanook

I have a Lumina now (1997) with 113,000 miles. Sold the last one (1995) with 302.000 miles on it. The gauge on either car never moved.. once in awhile it would run half way up if i got stuck in traffic. I spent a good deal of money having things changed and nothing helped. Actually i think the cold running car made it possible to go to 300k with no tranny change or blown head gaskets.

In the winter i put card board in front of the grill and the temp gauge reads in the middle and the car is ok heat wise inside.

use cardboard and maybe you will get to the 300k mark with the original tranny and engine.

you know they both fail due to excessive heat............

s> This sounds strange, but my car's engine won't heat up. I bought the car new

Reply to
sonofadocker

"j" wrote in news:Jn_Rg.5107$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net:

I assume you're using aftermarket thermostats. Is there a possibility the thermostat is fitting poorly or is not correct for the engine, and is hanging up on something and not closing again after it opens? Is it binding on the thermostat housing?

Are you installing it correct way around?

What happens when you try an OEM thermostat from a GM dealer?

Reply to
TeGGeR®

J, where you said, "The thermostats that I have installed while trying to solve this problem are the type that have a built-in rubber gasket around them" : This is just the type I encountered in the 3800 Bonneville--and it made no difference if I used GM's or after-market, as they were identical in diameter. That gasket you mention is more like a "square-rather-than-round" o-ring with an internal groove for the t'stat flange to fit into, right? Something's gotta hold it in place to stop any floating which then allows water to flow around, rather than thru, it. Bear in mind, I don't have THE answer--they worked fine when new! But later on they began to float. Why??? Maybe at the factory they were glued to their base(?), because there's no way the neck will hold the flange down and on its seat. But I did find AN answer, which I still do not like due to its 'rigging' connotation. Gave my dad heat in his B'ville for several years, tho'. PLEASE email me if you find THE answer. Need to know 'cause I still spin a few wrenches! >> daniels_samatbellsouthdotnet

Reply to
sdlomi2

"sdlomi2" wrote in news:YD0Sg.37051$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews8.bellsouth.net:

My Integra has that sort of design. The gasket/O-ring compresses slightly when you tighten the thermostat housing down. Doesn't the OP's work the same way?

Reply to
TeGGeR®

Hey Tegger, the one on the 3800 would not compress, as the neck diam. was bigger than the t'stat flange *including* the ring's circumference. Poor design--maybe if a neck with a smaller i.d.??? s

Reply to
sdlomi2

Are you bleeding the ait out of the system? 3.1's have a special coolant refill procedure.

Reply to
Steve Walker

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