Heating problems

[Pro]

yeah you guys are right, ambient temps have zero effect on operating temp.

[almighty4wd]

haha. you guys make me laugh. when I was in Fresno 2 summers ago, it was 115F. the GP ran around 185-195F, depending on velocity.

here, just last week when we had -20 to -25F, it took a while, but it stablized at 170F regardless of my speed.

ambient temp makes a difference, but it takes a huge range in outside temp to make a small difference in operating temps. 135* difference in outside makes a 25* to the engine. pretty damned good engineering I think.

[mannydingo]

Maybe because things were different then but, in the mid 80's, my overheating car would not overheat at night with the cool air. It, however, was guaranteed to heat up in the hot afternoon. It later turned out that the radiator was partially clogged.

[soldierboy15]

I'm just wondering what the odds are that I bought a thermostat that was bad already?

[therieldeal]

exactly 18.347:1

[soldierboy15]

Maybe I'm just unlucky than.

[therieldeal]

what i meant was, no one knows the odds, but it is possible.

[soldierboy15]

Would a bad coolant temp sensor cause this??
I've hear of this causing the engine to overheat, but never under heat..

[gybe]

Of course, if it's stuck open then it would take longer to warm up, some older cars might not even warm up to operating temp. My old Skoda Favorit with 1.3L engine didn't warm above app. 70 deg C with thermostat stuck open.

[mannydingo]

Of course, if it's stuck open then it would take longer to warm up, some older cars might not even warm up to operating temp. My old Skoda Favorit with 1.3L engine didn't warm above app. 70 deg C with thermostat stuck open.

No, he said "Would a bad coolant temp sensor cause this??". He's not talking about the thermostat.

[gybe]

Sorry, didn't read it right.

[96mazdaproteglx]

Great thread here, I have a question though... trying to fix my coolant temp sensor and wires now and noticed it's a bear to get to the thermostat with the distributor, I noticed some of you have the experience of replaced this part before... did you do it by having to remove all of the distributor or do you just have to have the patience and small hands/fingers to get down and around it to get to loosen the hose and reach the thermostat??

Thank you. After doing an excellent radiator flush on my 96 LX Mazda Protege using water wetter I noticed that the temp on the dash is going up an down like crazy and it's scaring me when it's going up to the top HOT. There are no leaks of any kind and it has plenty of fluid, over flow container is showing FULL with coolant. I'm about to replace the Thermostat thinking it's not working correctly. Thanks again!!