| Author |
Message |
    
Dana Giles (Dana_G)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 07:50 pm: | 
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I just completed a 1700 mile roadtrip home to Vermont for the holidays. Enroute I noticed that the temp gauge would rest at the bottom of the normal arc when at highway speeds and drop slightly below when slower. This is my first cold weather experience with the Disco so I'm not sure if this is a typical Disco thing, or a broken thermostat. Any suggestions? |
Kyle
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 07:52 pm: |
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Hmm
It shouldnt move at all really. You might want to check the level in the rad. Might also be the early signs of stoppage...
Kyle |
Robert Sublett (Rubisco98)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 09:19 pm: |
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Kyle is the man most certainly. But I had removed my t-stat during the summer due to the Disco running extra hot. Just replaced a couple of weeks ago and had very similar experiences to you with the cold weather. Drove around 300 miles and the only heat I could get is if I shut down the fan for awhile then blasted the hot air for a few. Replaced my t-stat and it warms up in about 3-4 minutes in the morning now. Much nicer I think I paid $13 +/- at the dealer for a t-stat. If you need help with the install do a keyword search over to your left and you'll find that Bluegill had posted some very nice pics... later.. Robert |
Dana Giles (Dana_G)
| | Posted on Saturday, December 21, 2002 - 09:47 pm: |
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Thanks for the advice gentlemen. Hopefully it is just the thermostat, given the price I'll probably start there. The strange thing is, I can get plenty of heat to warm up the interior which I thought was rather odd if it is a bad thermostat...oh well, we'll see how it runs after I change it |
Curtis N (Curtis)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 01:26 am: |
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I'm with Kyle on this one. When an engine is running low on coolant, it will read cooler on the temp guage. This is because there is not enough coolant for the thermometer to pick up a reading. If you are out of coolant, it will read as if the engine is flat out cold when in reality you are hot. A bad thermostat tends to stick in a closed position and make the engine read hot.
If your temp guage stayed a steady low then changing to a higher temp thermostat may do some good. That does not appear to be the case with you though because of the temp variance. The fact that you are reading colder when the engine is at a higher operating temp (slow speeds) and the opposite when running at lower temp speeds is pretty undicative of low coolant. Not too sure about the blockage symptoms, but I would not second guess Kyle
Curtis |
Axel Haakonsen (Axel)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 07:42 am: |
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If you have blockage, the thermostat, guage and sensor is ok and fluid levels are normal, the guage will read high as soon as you start putting a load on the engine, such as when you go up a hill or get above a certain speed. Am I correct, Kyle? |
Kyle
| | Posted on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 11:01 am: |
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Yeah , if I read him right the thing is cold when sitting and warms when moving. While it could be the T stat the more common issues are the rad or the level of coolant in the rad. When the engine RPMs increase and the load increases there isnt sufficient flow/volume to keep it cooled... When you drop back to idle all is well again....
Kyle |
Alan Yim (Alan)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 12:16 pm: |
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I'm not very knowledgable about this kinda stuff so hopefully someone can educate me but wouldn't the temp read hot if there isn't enough coolant running through radiator? I had an old pickup where a pebble flew through the radiator popping a hole and the rad fluid leacked out. My temp guage ran red hot. |
Kyle
| | Posted on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 01:46 pm: |
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Well if it was bone dry or completely blocked you are absolutely right. But that isnt the scenario I am talking about here. A partial blockage will just starve the engine of coolant when under heavier loads or higher speeds. The same gos for it being a little low.... A sticking T stat will do the same thing. It restrics the flow of the coolant just enough so that no issue is seen at all at idle and when you get uo to speed there just isnt enough flow to keep up with the engines needs.
Kyle |
Alan Yim (Alan)
| | Posted on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 07:50 pm: |
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Ahhh. ok, thanks. |
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