I've got to replace the thermostat on 1.3GP M-Jet. It's taking around 4-5 miles of driving at 40-50mph before the temp guage starts to lift of the bottom. It took a further 10mins of driving thereafter to reach normal temp. The heater too backs up this slow warmup.

The stat housing has a number of pipes connected to it. Is there anything to watch when replacing it?

Also, is the proper coolant pink or orange? I forgot to check it properly and I'm picking up the bits later and won't have the car with me to check then

Skyperr said:

I've got to replace the thermostat on 1.3GP M-Jet. It's taking around 4-5 miles of driving at 40-50mph before the temp guage starts to lift of the bottom. It took a further 10mins of driving thereafter to reach normal temp. The heater too backs up this slow warmup.

The stat housing has a number of pipes connected to it. Is there anything to watch when replacing it?

Also, is the proper coolant pink or orange? I forgot to check it properly and I'm picking up the bits later and won't have the car with me to check then

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proper coolant is red/pink its paraflu up, but i replaced mine with halfords advanced pink stuff.

taking 5 miles to warm up doesnt sound like a thermostat problem to me, mine takes that normally, its a dirty old cast iron block, they always take ages to warm up, more so when weather is cold outside.

Usual problems with dodgy thermostat, is temp gauge never reaching the middle, or overheating, they usually stick closed or open, open meaning it wil never reach middle, closed means overheating.

:yeahthat: does temp eventually reach the middle? If not then it's probably a faulty thermostat, but if it does then it'll be because it's a diesel, and most diesels take a long time to warm up properly

matty seasider said:

proper coolant is red/pink its paraflu up, but i replaced mine with halfords advanced pink stuff.

taking 5 miles to warm up doesnt sound like a thermostat problem to me, mine takes that normally, its a dirty old cast iron block, they always take ages to warm up, more so when weather is cold outside.

Usual problems with dodgy thermostat, is temp gauge never reaching the middle, or overheating, they usually stick closed or open, open meaning it wil never reach middle, closed means overheating.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies chaps!

Just to be clear, the car is barely luke warm after five miles - the heater is just starting to heat and the temp gauge only starts to lift at the point. It takes and additional ten mins on the motorway at a constant 50-60mph to get close to normal temp. After that run, when I slow down or stop in traffic, the guage might fall slightly. It will reach the half way point eventually though when driving in traffic.

The car is 1248cc, I might be wrong but the block is alloy rather than iron, and my previous petrol Punto - which was also 1248cc -was warm by the time I got got to the bottom of my road, never mind at the end of the motorway

I might swap the stat anyway as they're not especially dear. The number of pipes looks a little tricky but should be manageable.

Thermostat replaced. Big improvement! :slayer: