Warming up takes forever

I have already posted about my problem with excessive fuel use when cold, but maybe that isn't where to start looking. The car takes forever to warm up, thirty minutes or more. If I let it idle it will get the cats hot and will burn my carpet. I really need to get this fixed, but im not for sure what the problem is...Any suggestions on what could make it take so long to warm up?
And my fan was wired directly to battery, which, apparently is very common to this car. A friend of mine's is the exact same way. His car warms up fine! That's the only reason I didn't assume the fan being the culprit. If I was to fix it, how would i make it shut on/off according to temperature?

Ok this just happened to my other car and the water pump died. Check the fluids and see if they are topped off. Also open the radiator cap (make sure the car is cold!) and see if the coolant is going anywhere.

If the cats are getting that hot I would guess that the engine isn't burning all the fuel so some is getting spewed out the exhuast and is burning up the cats. Dunno if this helps, but that's my guess.

And my fan was wired directly to battery, which, apparently is very common to this car. ?

If it is running this badly, the check engine light s/b on and throwing a code probably related to the CTS (coolant temp sensor) circuit error.

:iagree:
Also, it sounds like(and correct me if Im wrong) it takes forever to heat up, then when it finally does heat up, it doesnt cool back down...is that right?
If I am understanding you correctly, then after you check your codes, you need to check your thermostat(may be stuck open, which would explain why it takes so long to warm up)...one problem at a time.

check ur cooling fan relay, radiator fan switch, coolant temp sensor, and thermostat. If u replace them all and check the wiring, u should fix both problems at once. The reason I say replace them all, is because they' re not real expensive, and it would take the guess work out of it. If all that dosen't work, i would look into an ecm or prom chip problem, but that's a long shot.

The key here is the fact that it's running rich as hell. A bad CTS reading will cause a CRAP LOAD of problems. Since the wrong engine temp is being reported (cold in this case) the fuel mixture is rich, the torque converter lock up will not function properly, and guess what, the ignition timing will be advanced by the ECM to work with the exteremely rich fuel mixture.

That said and the fact the cooling fan is hacked, I believe there is a multitude of problems. Have we even verified there IS a thermostat in the car? What is it's rating if so? Socondly is the hack job to the fan done correctly or is it grounding out somewhere and running the fan at all times when the ignition is on?

Last note, your cat(s) by now are probably pretty well toast.

Another question, what is the basis of the temp reading? If your using the dash gauge, remember, third gen gauges are not very accurate. And the sending unit on the left head between 1 & 3 could be bad. When the gauge says it's cold, how does the upper radiator hose feel?