my mutt lucky is an odd bread of festy..... in need of help!

[rotinaj13]

It is an 88 with a 93 head. When normal driving the temp is a small smudge above C and that is in 70-80 deg weather then stop and go it gets half way, but as soon as u get up to 55 boom back to C.... Any ideas?!?

[mechanicaldj]

stuck open thermostat (main cause)

[rotinaj13]

the t-stat is brand new and i tested it with hot water b4 i put it in... I dunno what it is

[mechanicaldj]

Does the engine fan stay on all the time?


the thermostat could have broke since then

[rotinaj13]

fan never kicks on till it sits still or is in grid lock. but I have replaced the tstat twice since i got it trying to resolve this issue. My mom's festy does the same exact thing... not a bad problem in summer but sux in the winter!!!

[FB71]

keep in mind, the temperature "Gage" is more like an indicator. It just ball-parks the temp. Don't count on it to be accurate. Drive it till warm, park it, and run the engine till the temp Gage reaches its peak (around the time the fan should come on. Use a separate infrared or thermocouple probe temp Gage to see what the actual temp is at the therm housing. It should be 195-210, max. That should equal mid sweep. High sweep would be 230-245, and low sweep would be 180 and below. These little guys don't hold much coolant, so they collect and surrender heat very quickly, due to the low coolant mass. Put an Aspire radiator in it, and the temp should be more stable.

[Guest]

..or an atx festy 2 core

[rotinaj13]

The thing is the fan never comes on till you are sitting in a traffic jam for like 20 min or sitting still for like 30 min. It is like the tstat isn't closing but I know it is. My mom has seen 3 like this. like here in the mornings I run the heat a bit cause it is still getting down to 40 and the festy I can stand to have the fan on high and the heat all the way up. The aspire I turn it to outside air and heat 3/4's up and it roasts me out. The festy just doesn't have much heat and isn't heating up much. The heater core isn't clogged and doesn't have the fins caked with dirt or what ever like I expected to see when I tore it down... I know the tstat is good! It did this right after every tstat I have put in and I test them b4 I put them in. It is just a problem I'd like to fix b4 winter... cause it sux in the winter!

[kidcurry73]

I have to put mine on the "defrost vents" to get any heat out of it...if I use the regular vents it just dosent seem to blow very hot.

[rotinaj13]

The panel vents were designed to blow "cool" air as a comfort to the driver... so it will not blow any heat. defrost and floor will though..