my temp won't hit 160

During the summer my 96 blazer would run real hot, so the first thing i thought of was tossing a termosat at it, and it did help it kept it right around 210, usually a few degrees under it. Last week i drove from philly to pittsburg, thats about 300 miles, my needle would even break what seems like 160. and in result i have very low heat inside the car aswell. I do have a flowmaster muffler, cold air intake and a throttle body spacer for gas milliage porpuse, but no way would it would lower the engine temp that much, even with this cold air were having... Any one have an idea, i don't know if it running that cold is good or bad

During the summer my 96 blazer would run real hot, so the first thing i thought of was tossing a termosat at it, and it did help it kept it right around 210, usually a few degrees under it. Last week i drove from philly to pittsburg, thats about 300 miles, my needle would even break what seems like 160. and in result i have very low heat inside the car aswell. I do have a flowmaster muffler, cold air intake and a throttle body spacer for gas milliage porpuse, but no way would it would lower the engine temp that much, even with this cold air were having... Any one have an idea, i don't know if it running that cold is good or bad



Sounds like you need a new thermostat.

The engine should run at 195*. Someone will be along to explain that.

Yea i was going to once i get on break from college, there dirt cheap, just the idea that the one thats in there is only 5 months old, oh well

Yea i was going to once i get on break from college, there dirt cheap, just the idea that the one thats in there is only 5 months old, oh well

i dont think mine ever reaches 210, or near it, it cant hurt that the coolant is always running....

[i'm sure it can't hurt it, but its cold as shit out, and having to drive 2 hours to get some sort of heat sux hahaha, i guess it would be worse

I recently changed themostats 3 times to finally get one that worked at the temp i wanted . different brands but the same temp rating . Openning speed seemed to be the difference when I heated them on the stove. But I am running a modified engine so my situation may be biased . Rob

I've also had to change thermos a few time to get one that works. Cheap but a real pain in the ass to have to do over and over.

ok thanx guys, i'll try that once i get a chance

My temperature also hovers around 160. I see it rise to about 200 and then drop when the thermo opens, but it never seems to go above 160. How accurate are the Blazers temp gauges? It's been about 10 degrees here lately and it seems to be heating fine. Is there any way to tell if the computer has gone to open loop?

My temperature also hovers around 160. I see it rise to about 200 and then drop when the thermo opens, but it never seems to go above 160. How accurate are the Blazers temp gauges? It's been about 10 degrees here lately and it seems to be heating fine. Is there any way to tell if the computer has gone to open loop?

Yea i don't know last winter it stayed right up around 200 ish, i mean i'm sure its not bad, and i do get a little bit of heat. i just like to keep my car running right, that right now though is the least of my worries

The engine needs to be getting up to at least 180 I think it is for best operation, running below that does not allow the system to work exactly as designed. So it's best to make sure the thermostat is working as it's supposed to, and that it's the right one. Granted it's going to run colder in the winter, and especially where some of you live (I'm in Mississippi so no worries here), but it should still warm up to a decent operating temperature regardless.

Just found out that this MIGHT be fairly common. Check out the following links:

http://www.automotivehelper.com/topic471434.htm

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=471171

195 should be operating temp. My stat was stuck open over the summer. It was in open loop all the time. I replaced the stat and it's always at 195. That is the normal operating temp as far as I know. With the temp fluctuating like 200 then down to 160 concerns me. How is your coolant level, do you here gurgling from the dash on passenger side (especially when you give it the gas) and when was the last time you guys had the coolant power flushed? I had my coolant power flushed and then I replaced the stat on my own. When my needle hits 195, it pretty much stays there. One other thing. Do you have a 50/50 mix of dex-cool.

beat me to it geezman

I do hear at times the water rushing noise in the passenger side. i'm sure its the heat core. I saw in a forum b-4 that i may just need to put a new rad cap on. I think BlazerLT said it was just air in the system. I did do a rad flush over the summer, once i top of the rad and drove it for a lil the dexcool was back to a kinda murkey orange. I'm assuming that the rest of the dexcool just blended w/ the new stuff. i was going to take it to a gm dealer to have them flush the whole system

You still have air pockets in the system. Your best bet is to get the system totally fushed and replace the stat and replace the radiator cap. Like others here preach, use stant cap only. Anything else sux and will eventually leak air back into the system or leak coolant out or both. Shop around for the coolant flush. Jiffy lube does a pretty decent job by me. I was the only one there while they were doing my Blazer. I got to ask plenty of questions and watch. They even recomended replacing the stat right away. Cost for the power flush was 100USD. If you haven't had this done in a long time or ever, then this is a good place to start troubleshooting.

You still have air pockets in the system. Your best bet is to get the system totally fushed and replace the stat and replace the radiator cap. Like others here preach, use stant cap only. Anything else sux and will eventually leak air back into the system or leak coolant out or both. Shop around for the coolant flush. Jiffy lube does a pretty decent job by me. I was the only one there while they were doing my Blazer. I got to ask plenty of questions and watch. They even recomended replacing the stat right away. Cost for the power flush was 100USD. If you haven't had this done in a long time or ever, then this is a good place to start troubleshooting.

Yea i'll deff get that done once i get on brake from college, I bought the car at about 96,000 on it and now its got about 112,000 i already rebuilt the tranny, and i keep up on oil changes, just need a good coolant flush and i think i'll be doing good. Yea a mechanic i became buddies with told me to only get stant's as well Thanx for the advice

No problem. Good luck.

You don't need another flush, replace the rad cap and make sure the overflow resevoir is not clogged at the bottom.

Also, swap in a new thermostat and you should be fine.

Make sure you install a 195f stat and nothing cooler.

BlazerLT, he said he did a radiator flush. Wouldn't it be a good idea to totaly flush the system out? His heater core could be getting patially clogged.

Just a tip. To do a good flush on a system, the stat should be removed and the flush ran through. You get better flow. I also like to loop my heater hoses so I'm not running crud from my engine into the heater core. Then flush through the core with a water hose both ways until you have nothung but clear water coming out.
Like I said, just another tip.
Chuck

BlazerLT, he said he did a radiator flush. Wouldn't it be a good idea to totaly flush the system out? His heater core could be getting patially clogged.

Yes, my mistake, I thought he said full system flush.

Although we are getting a little off topic here, the rad cap should be replaced and a system flush performed along with a new thermostat.