hi is my thermostat shot as when i sit still the temp goes up to normal but when driving it runs cold if so where is it located i have a marea 2lt 20v s reg

andy

what do you mean runs cold, 1/4 way up 2/5? How cold is it outside - i guess cold if your handbrakes freezing too?

If between 1/4 and 1/2 does it eventually get to normal temp after being driven a wee way?

Your thermostat is goosed when the temp keeps rising and goes to high. When driving the temp gauge will decrease which is normal if weather is cold

it runs cold as in the gauge is right at the bottom when driving fast ie on motorway and rises when driving slowly even blows jst warm

Whats the heaters like, nice and hot? If yes, it may be the temp coolant sensor, if not then its likely your thermo is possibly stuck open a wee bit.

yep my blowers blow cold when temp gauge drops
so if it is my thermostat how easy or hard to change
and where about on the engine is it located

thanks

Looks like this, right hand end of the engine under the strange black box.



I'd buy one to change it over with, then you need to top up lost coolant and bleed the system of air, or you'll get other probs, running cools not going to kill the car for now, its not great for it as oil and water is cooled lower than it should be. But obviously getting parts etc at this time of year may be a bit tricky.

To save mess I'd drain the coolant at the same time. Check the manual as to the procedure. I could not get the drain plug out of the engine, but in the end it was no problem. I simply removed the drain plug from the bottom of the radiator.

Make sure you run the engine hot before hand, with the interior temperature set to max hot before turning the ign off.

Remove the Battery, and the acoustic box cover, and I think from memory the air intake pipe to gain access. I think it is then 3 bolts to remove the thermostat and replace.

You will need replacement jubilee clips, as the standard fiat ones will not be reuseable unless you have the workshop tool..

The pipes to the thermostat will no doubt be old hard rubber by now so it could be a bit tricky to release them.

Swap over the coolant temp sensor, and fit the new one. Simple.

If you want to wait until the new year before doing this, then you can resort to a quick bodge to get you through - simply wrap half the radiator in tin foil to reduce it's efficiency.... obviously keep an eye on the temp gauge, and don't use the Aircon.

Good luck, and happy christmas...

thanx might give it a bash day after boxing day

and a merry xmas to you too

andy