kinda dumb temp question

Okay this may sound dumb I know but I just wonder if anything wrong. My 94 Grand am has the engine temp or coolant temp guage and in the summer the engine temp usually ran for about 160 and never rose unless stopped for awhile or idling which then it would hit about 220, then driving it would go back to 160. Now I changed my plugs about 1 month maybe a little more ago. It was also getting cold outside. So my question is do engines' temperatures run a little hotter in the winter? I am wondering if the plugs might have to do with it or it just runs warmer now that it's colder. And if maybe I should worry that it's temp rises more when idling than actually driving. Oh yeah the engine is the 2.3 dohc ho. It still runs good and no abnormal amout of smoke or steam or whatever it is when it's cold out.

are you saying it is overheating now? If so, what temp is it getting to?

it's not overheating just running a little warmer, roughly 180-200

Have you replaced your thermostat in a while?

94-95 quads should run around 160-180. Start with a good flush of the cooling system, if the problem persists change the thermostat (its a really fun job, trust me), if the problem is still there do a flow test on your heater core.

I have had the car for almost a year. Never changed the thermostat. I don't even know when the last time the radiator was flushed or anything like that. And it's like 30 degrees outside and snowing a little, on top of that how fun will replacing the thermostat be? And where is it? haha

The thermostat on the 94-95 quad is in the worst spot for access. Open the hood, stand on the passenger side and lean over the back of the motor. Look down between the fingers of the exhaust manifold. See that cover down there with one visible bolt and one you can't see? It's under that. Those bolts should be 8mm, and there is another bolt on the metal line leading to the radiator that is on the bottom of the motor and must be removed so the pipe will drop from the housing. Plan on getting wet. I changed mine last december after the crooks at the dealership put in a defective one, took me about 3 hours total, 2ish hours to change the damn thing as I really don't fit under the car (something about being 6 feet tall and toting around 225 lbs), and around an hour to burp the air out of the car. If you have access to a lift its much easier as you won't be rolling around on the ground in anything you spill. Good luck, and no, the exhaust manifold does not have to come off.

Sounds like such a pain, I think I will try flushing the system first though as I read one of your other posts about the water pump pumping out enough pressure to open the...whatever at 3k rpm's, maybe there is a clog somewhere? I figure that could work. But again with the 30 degree weather it might be difficult. I also don't see a direct filler cap for my radiator unless it's on the side somewhere but nothing on the top. Now I am a novice with this kinda stuff, how do I flush it? I've heard drain entirely then run a hose through it. Does that work and do I need the car running? And between that and the thermostat what do you suggest trying first?

ditto on the 'fun job'. PITA, with or without a lift.

I took mine in to get it flushed. The most common backyard way to flush is to buy a good quality flush solution from a parts store and follow the directions, after its been run through the system disconnect the heater hose from the water outlet, attach a garden hose to the line going to the heater, and run a catch line from the water outlet to whatever you are going to catch everything in. It makes a hell of a mess. You might not get the radiator fully flushed, but it does make a difference. I took my car in and had it done as its a job I really didn't want to do. If its the radiator itself thats clogged, which is fairly common on vehicles running dexcool, you can flush the radiator in the bathtub, go to the junkyard and get a upper radiator hose, remove the radiator from your car, attach the hose to either end of the radiator, put the whole thing in the bath tub, jam the other end of the hose over the water outlet in the tub and crank the water on. A good flowing radiator should be able to keep up with the water coming out, if its clogged it obviously will not. The pressure cap on the quad cars is on the overflow tank on the right side of the car. If you have green coolant make sure you use green coolant. If you have dexcool, [B]thoroughly flush the system out and put green stuff in it as alot of us here think the green stuff is much better. Good luck, hope this helps you out.

Alright well thank you for all your help, I appreciate it. I think I may just take it into a shop to get done and again thank you.