| Author | Message | ||
     Brian Dickens (Bri) Senior Member Username: Bri Post Number: 825 Registered: 08-2002 |
Driving in the cold yesterday my 95 disco started losing temp. The temp guage went down (normally reads midway between high/low lines). After driving a bit it reads near the low line. Letting it idle in the parking garage it started to raise a bit, but I had to leave and catch a flight. So now I wonder what is in store when I get back to my vehicle and whether it is safe to drive home. Sounds like the thermostat is toast, maybe frozen open? Is it safe to drive it home and fix this problem later? Do I need to fix immediately? Any advise? Please???? Brian | ||
| Bazzle (Bazzle) Member Username: Bazzle Post Number: 42 Registered: 09-2003 |
1st thing to check is the coolant level when you get back. If ok drive and see if prob reappears. They do go faulty from time to time. Bazzle | ||
| Robert Sublett (Rubisco98) Senior Member Username: Rubisco98 Post Number: 1080 Registered: 04-2002 |
My thermostat has been removed for quite some time. I wouldn't worry about running with a faulty thermostat unless your temp. gauge was going in the opposite direction into the red. On another note, it may not be your thermostat at all, it could be the temp. sensor gone bad and sending the gauge a false reading. Thermostat is pretty easy to pull. I had to pull mine while 100's of miles from home. Just be surey your engine is cool and break out that emergency socket set and pull the t-stat. Good luck to ya.. Later.. RS | ||
| Joseph Bilyk (Denverrover) Member Username: Denverrover Post Number: 108 Registered: 02-2003 |
Same thing happend to my truck. It's the t-stat. The springs are weak and they will hang open. Replace it. It takes all but 15 minutes. While you're at it, drain off most of the coolant & replace for winter. joe | ||
| Ron Brown (Ron) Senior Member Username: Ron Post Number: 587 Registered: 04-2001 |
Too cold won't hurt anything short term. On a GEMS truck it throws a Check Engine light but on the 14CUX I doubt anything will happen. Ron | ||
| ken knebusch (Charlotterover) Senior Member Username: Charlotterover Post Number: 273 Registered: 02-2002 |
To get you home you can throw a towel or cardboard in front of the grille to stop the flow of cold air against it. Just make sure you keep an eye on the temp! I had to do that once. I replaced the thermostat and it worked fine. Just another option. Ken | ||
| Bazzle (Bazzle) Member Username: Bazzle Post Number: 43 Registered: 09-2003 |
If you change the therm on (3.9) ensure you stick gasket in place over thermostart to hold in place. If it drops down during refit it will leak and need to be done again bazzle | ||
| Tony Zuniga (Tony23007) Member Username: Tony23007 Post Number: 205 Registered: 05-2003 |
If your planning on changing the Thermostat than that will also be a good time to change the Sending Unit since you have to drain the coolant from the engine anyway, it is the smallest cable right on top of the engine block by the Large Radiator Hose. In your case you could have a bad connection on the Sending Unit, those cables are very thin and break really easily. If I were you, I would check the engine coolant level, drive home on the shortest route possible and fix your problem. Remember if your sending unit is bad you could actually be reading hot and would never know it!!!! | ||
| Brian Dickens (Bri) Senior Member Username: Bri Post Number: 826 Registered: 08-2002 |
Shit. Tony & Robert, that doesn't make me feel real good. The engine did not seem real hot, but I will check. i would assume of the sensor is bad and I am running hot (bad thing) that I could detect by opening the hood and checking it out? Is that true? Unfortunately its about 40 miles home. Excellent advice though. I'll keep an eye on it and see how it bahaves for the first mile or two. I have the thermostat and gasket, but damn it, its going to be the night before thanksgiving at 10:00pm at the airport before I can diagnose. Thanks a lot, any more advice before I see the rig is much appreciated. Brian |
