engine and drivetrain 02 running too cold

[shannahan]

I searched and could not narrow in on anything about this. Sorry if this is has been covered.

My 2002 originally lived in California and now resides in Montana, where of course it is much colder. Now the engine will not get warm enough, the needle never leaves the blue zone, no matter how hard I work it, Mountain passes at all she has just nudge it to the top of thge blue. Of course this means that I get no hot air(from the car), Worse yet I believe it runs on the choke much more than it should becasue around town it stays neart the bottom of the blue area.

Most likely I need a hotter thermo. This car will not be driven in the winter but any time of the year we can have temps not far above freezing, on the other end we can see temperatures at or near a hundred degrees. Does anyone else who lives in the North have experience with what temperature thermo works best. Or could something else be the problem?

Thanks

[ingraham]

Get a new one, preferably 80 C. In your situation 75 C or 71 C is no advantage.

[jetboy]

I regularly drove my 02 in winter upstate New-York, often 10 F weather and I did not have this problem - what I did have was cancerous rust that ate the floor out from under me - but it was plenty warm.

so yeah, its not a normal condition- get a new thermo!

[dubois]

I hear that often, so I have started to believe it. Something to do with expansion of block and pistons, and having the correct gap to avoid excessive wear. Having been traumatized by my first car that always overheated, I had always welcomed a "cool" engine. But I guess that's why they invented the term: normal operating temperature - cool is not normal. On a side note, if you run a modern car cold for an extended period of time, you will be ruining your catalytic converter quickly. A lot cheaper to change the thermostat, don't ask me how I know.

[PeterVarga]

If you keep coolant in your radiator, the temp of the system is

hotter. Try full strength coolant instead of water. Peter

[Stu]

The easy quick fix (thanks to BC) is to cut out a piece of cardboard and slide it in front of the radiator. I cut a piece that is as tall as the radiator, and about one-half the width, so you get some air flow. Loosen up the bolts on one side of the radiator (I use the passenger side) and slide the board in. Works like a champ.

[Stu]

Oops, forgot to mention cut a piece out of a cardboard box, not thin cardboard.

[JohnN]

Also it has substantially poorer thermal transfer characteristics (the ability to pull heat out your engine) than water. Fix the thermostat.

In the banana belt of Montana, they get out the sunscreen at 9 degrees :-)

John N