heat??? iam cold!!!!

[bassman]

my temp gage works but only goes up over the bottom like a 1/4 inch and the heat output is crappy.
i am thinking thermostat and a rad flush???
but my question is where does your needle sit when your festiva is warm????



shayne

[rotinaj13]

if you let it sit running, for a while will the needle move to the middle? You might need to block off part of ur rad.

[jberger62]

My temp gauge goes about 1/4-1/2" up on the gauge once the engine is warmed up to operating temp.
The heat does take a little while to come out warm though.
I would say that a Rad Flush-n-fill would be in your best interest along with what you've already stated...a Thermostat check/replacement with possibly a higher temp Thermostat like maybe a 195°; at least for the rest of the cold weather season. If all of that doesn't get your cars interior any warmer than for sure a small piece of cardboard in front of the rad will allow the engine to warm up a lot faster. Just be cautious about getting too warm and overheating the engine.
That's about all the sideline help I can give ya and hope it gives you some ideas and motivation to get out there and get it done.
you'll reap the rewards of a nice warm ride when all is said and done.
Good luck with it Shayne

[rotinaj13]

over heat in canada u must b crazy!! lol but all of the above suggestions covered it!

[bassman]

I have a new thermostat, gasket, antiseize, high heat silicone gasket goop and a jug of new antifreeze.
i also have a bottle of rad flush.
i will post my results
shayne

[jeffdjeffd]

My fan comes on just under half way up the gauge (93 Festy), and the guage has never gone over half-way. I feel heat as soon as the guage starts to move off it's parked position. Cardboard covering radiator for winter!!!!

[nattyphysicist]

My fan comes on just under half way up the gauge (93 Festy), and the guage has never gone over half-way. I feel heat as soon as the guage starts to move off it's parked position. Cardboard covering radiator for winter!!!!

I have the exact situation.

Are you saying to cover the rad in the winter then?

Nat

[bassman]

so far i broke the housing that holds the thermostat .
when i put in the new one it fell out of the little groove that it sits in and did not seal.
so i tried to tighten it down and snap.
so the new one will be here in the morning and that was a 20 dollar lesson.
but.
the old thermostat is a 160 and there is a 180 (stock) and what i am using a 195.
here in sask it is cold and never as hot as some places so the parts guy said that the 195 will be good.
my only advice is next time i would just let some shop do it and save the hassle.
really this is not a big job but just the way it is going it is a hassle.
also the bottom bolt is in a stupid spot that need a special wobble socket extension to get to.
later

shayne

[jeffdjeffd]

Cover the radiator!!! I cut a piece of cardboard to completely cover the radiator front. I remove the upper radiator supports and wedge it in between the radiator and A/C condensor - I remember it fit reasonably snugly in my other Festys without a/c

[Gro Harlem]

Cover the radiator!!! I cut a piece of cardboard to completely cover the radiator front. I remove the upper radiator supports and wedge it in between the radiator and A/C condensor - I remember it fit reasonably snugly in my other Festys without a/c

this is what darpien did..it worked.

its ez too, just shove some peice of carboard over the radiator & it heats up good on the highway

[bassman]

all done..
installed new thermostat (195) and the temp gage comes up to just under half and i am staying warm.
shayne

[darkdan]

What I find strange is my factory gauge reads in the middle, but my aftermarket water temp gauge will be at 130F.

Another thing that helped mine was a new radiator cap. I think mine wasn't keeping in the pressure.

[Tim]

I drove my Festiva without coolant for a week or two around Christmas. The temp needle never even approached 1/2 way.


Regards,

Tim

[FB71]

well, that makes sense, Tim. A coolant temp sensor detects the temp of COOLANT, not air. Hot air doesn't have sufficient mass to transfer enough heat energy into the sensor to make it register properly. And I think we just found the source of many of your recent troubles.......

No coolant = localized overheating in the cylinders, causing the pistons to swell and gouge the cylinder walls, and causing to head to heat unevenly, causing the head gasket to rupture.

[Tim]

You may be on to something there...

If the engine goes belly up I can buy a rebuilt one at a very reasonable price.

Hopefully that won't be the case...