running too cold

hey guys quick question, is there some method or trick to getting our thermostats to seal properly against the water neck housing? i have had a 180* thermostat and just yesterday i replaced it with a factory 192* because i would never get above 130 while driving, the 192 gets to about 140* from what i understand the optimal runing tmp for our engines is 180-190 so if any one can help me get there i will be much appreciative.

thanks El

No real "tricks" to getting it to seal.

Did you buy a name brand stat (Motorcraft / NAPA Eschlin, etc), or some $3 piece of crap made in the third world? Even if you got a "good" brand, did you inspect it to be sure it fully closes? Did you put it in a pan of water with an accurate thermomoter and heat it to see what temp it starts to open at?

I bought a motorcraft one but no i did not test it. It was fully closed new and i know 130-140 is not when is opens, i allowed the engine to warm to about 140 after intall and the t-stat did not open i had to leave (was at work). On the way home on the the highest it may have gotten was 150 at a light. Once i was home i allowed it to heat up untill my fan kicked on, then i checked the water level in the radiator and i caould tell the t-stat was open. I filled toped of the radiator and put the cap on. While i was waiting for my fan to come on i remember lighty pressing the pedal to raise the rpm to get the temp to go up a bit faster and it actualy went down just a hair so i stoped, dont know if that will help or not. Also i have a 88 stang with the factory sized 2 core if that makes any difference.

1-off If the fan came on while idling it was reaching factory temperatures, factory temperatue switch is 192 degrees if I am not mistaking, why are you concerned about reaching temperatures that high are you not getting enough heat in the car ? also the FOX body mustang's and TC are the same radiator at least for 87 88 years

Bill

Biil, I dont necessarily want to get to 192, it only goes up to about 140 while im driving. From what i understand that is below optimum runing temp, I basicly would like to run at a tempature that would alow the engine to preform its best and from what i understand my la2 would proform a bit better at a more optimal tempature. and yes i have heat

i am in the automotive tech class and right now we are studying the coolant system. If the fan came on the vehicle reached optimum temp. if you were alloweed to top it off and could see the coolant moving then the stat is opening. if the car cools off while under normal driviong conditions it will deffinently affect your gas mileage because the computer still thinks the car isnt at normal temps so it stays in an open loop and is using more fuel than necessary. this is good for summer time but not in winter. best suggestion, properly drain and refil coolant at a lower percent as in 40 percent coolant to 60 percent water or if its real cold like here in wisconsin then you may want to go to 30 percent coolant to 70 percent. hope this helps

BTW, a properly operating cooling system can have niagra falls amounts of cold water *available* but the thermostat will still keep the car at proper temp. Make sure your gauge is accurate and everything is in working order. Let it sit at idle after driving it and see if your fan comes on. If it does, and your (assume aftermarket) temp gauge still says 180, I would say it's wrong. The only other thing could be the thermostat opening too soon/not closing. As Jeff said, you can test it in a pan of water on the stove with a thermometer. FWIW I've had a few bad stants from the get go.

What kind of gauge are you getting the temperature figures from?

Like everyone else said, if the fan came on it got to operating temp. It's normal to cool down driving it in this weather.

My fan comes on pretty much when the gauge reaches "normal". So... i guess the gauge is wrong.

Originally posted by kwiksilver3441:
if the car cools off while under normal driviong conditions it will deffinently affect your gas mileage because the computer still thinks the car isnt at normal temps so it stays in an open loop and is using more fuel than necessary.

Not true!! This is one of those myths that have been going around the web and even in auto classes that is simply incorrect. The open loop / closed loop transition does NOT occur when the coolant gets to operating temp. The transition point is determined by ECT, ACT/IAT, PCM preception of weather the O2 sensor output is valid, and often by time since engine has been started (hot restart timer). Transition to closed loop can occur with coolant temps as low as 100 deg in warmer weather. More "modern" OBDII cars will go closed loop in as little as a minute after a cold start even in moderate to cool temps. Anyone with an A/F gauge can easily verify this by looking at the coolant temp when the gauge starts to switch lean/rich, indicating closed loop mode.