Quote:
Originally Posted by scoteric
I have a 1995 park avenue with 155,000 miles on it. The engine runs cold and will not warm up to 195 degrees F. I have replaced the thermostat two times and it still does not warm up like it did before the new thermostat was installed. The last thermostat was purchased at the dealer and was supposed to be the correct one for the car. I have also replaced the intake gasket and the water pump. Now that the weather has gotten below 0 degrees F the cars heat gauge only shows 125 degrees F after abot 15 minutes of driving. The car takes a long time to warm up so I am assuming the water is circulating sooner than it should.
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After driving 15 minutes and the temp showing 125, open the hood and feel the upper radiator hose from the motor to the radiator. It should not be warm because the thermostat should not have opened much at all. It might be warm near the motor for a few inches especially on the bottom from bleed through at thermostat; but the rest should be cold.
If the thermostat is staying closed, it may just be that the heat is being taken out of the coolant by the flow through the heater because of the cold air you're in. There's not enough heat produced by the motor to need the radiator other than the heater which is a small radiator itself. With the blower on high speed, a lot of heat is taken out of the heater and water when the temps are cold. You might try warming the car up for about 5 minutes before driving. But high winds blowing through the engine compartment also take heat from the exterior of the motor (and transmission) when the temps are cold. I just looked up your location and you're as far north in Illinois as one can get, so it's been cold there the last few days.
What does it do if you drive more minutes at highway speeds?
Also try putting the blower speed only on lowest speed at first and see if the air you're getting inside the car is warm.
Have you checked the water level inside the radiator itself when the engine is not hot? Make sure the radiator is full of coolant as well as the reservoir tank is full.