Engine Temperature - in this foul weather

[ae1hini]

Location NE Scotland, Weather ***te, 190e 2.0 normally runs at around 80 Deg, in this awful weather it is struggling to hit the 50 Deg mark which impacts on the heating output!! Are these temps normal?

As the result of a high speed argument with a pheasant earlier this year the RAD is only about 5 months old.

 

[dave elcome]

Engine Temperature

Sounds to me like the thermostat is knackered, and therefore opening a bit early, try changing this first, its the easiest and cheapest option.

good luck.

 

[sunil sood]

Engine Temperature

your car is running too cool,therefore either your thermostat is stuck open all the time resulting in overcooling,or your engine fan is on all the time,check it with the engine switched off ,the fan should freewheel if you spin it by hand when the engine is cold.(that is if your car has an electomagnetic type clutch fan)

another possibilty is that the thermostat is missing altogether-are you sure it was replaced when your rad was changed

 

[NormanB]

Engine Temperature

Agree with Sunil and David - it is most likely to be your thermostat - which is an easy peasy 10-15 min job.

Even if your fan was running continously yr thermostat should shut down flow to rad and maintain engine temp.

I have recently done mine, one of the support legs had failed in way of spot weld, so the guts were all hanging over to one side and the poor old thermo had no chance of doing very much.

NormanB

 

[dave elcome]

Engine Temperature

Quote: from ae1hini on 12:57 pm on Oct. 23, 2002
Location NE Scotland, Weather ***te, 190e 2.0 normally runs at around 80 Deg, in this awful weather it is struggling to hit the 50 Deg mark which impacts on the heating output!! Are these temps normal?


As the result of a high speed argument with a pheasant earlier this year the RAD is only about 5 months old.

Heed what Norman and myself have said, thermostats are not the fit and forget thing that most people will have you believe, they wear with use the same as all other mechanical devices.  Also your stat is not "missing" nor is it "stuck open" as others have stated, if this were the case then it would not merely run cooler, it wouldn't reach temp at all!!




(Edited by dave elcome at 6:34 pm on Oct. 23, 2002)

 

[nickh]

Engine Temperature

my 23e takes a long time to reack 80 degrees now the weather is cooler, and it reaches 100 if i,m stuck in traffic for a while before it cools down, does this sound normal? should i replace my thermostat?  

 

[NormanB]

Engine Temperature

Hi nickh

Thats a tough one - mine takes longer to warm up too!

The question is how long is too long - unfortunately too many variables for a simple answer. You are probably the best judge (what was it like last year when temps similar?).

You could give it a stiff ignoring - at least your engine  is getting to operating temp OR you could spend a few quid and swap the themo out.

I suppose you also blank the bottom third (with cardboard) of your radiator - shouldn't need it in winter - particularly if you are just doing short trips. I expect some experts will descend on this paragraph and urge caution.

Good Luck

 

[sunil sood]

Engine Temperature

my gut reaction tells me that the 100 degrees in idling/traffic is normal

 

[ae1hini]

Engine Temperature

Thanks for all the comments so far, what is a reasonable operating temperature?

 

[sunil sood]

Engine Temperature

a reasonable operating temperature would just above the 80 mark on the temp gauge.this is while driving along,in traffic it may rise to half way between 80 and the 100 mark-experience from my car

 

[sunil sood]

Engine Temperature

a reasonable operating temperature would just above the 80 mark on the temp gauge.this is while driving along,in traffic it may rise to half way between 80 and the 100 mark-experience from my car