Technical Stilo 1.2

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Technical Stilo 1.2

Suntugs

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Jun 15, 2016
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My stilo has ran ok during the summer but now when I put the heater on the temp gauge drops right down previously it never moved from normal
 
I would agree with the assessment of others, sounds like the thermostat has passed it's best.

The thermostat is designed to keep the engine warm, in order that it operates at maximum efficiency. They are 'fail safe' so that should the break down they are open, so that you do not overheat.

The thermostat will allow the coolant around the engine to run up to operating temperature, between 90-100oC typically. As the coolant around the engine starts to approach this operating temperature the thermostat opens, allowing some of this now warm coolant to pass out to the radiator, to cool it down. Thus regulating the engine temperature.

When they fail, the thermostats fail open, so the coolant is always passing through the radiator even though its not up to the correct temperature yet.

In the summer this doesn't tend to be so noticeable. Its hotter out, so engine warms up a bit faster, gets generally hotter and with higher ambient temperatures less heat is lost through the radiator. Of course you dont use the heaters in the summer either.

Of course now we're approaching autumn and winter, we've just had our first cold snap thanks to a north wind, the issue becomes more apparent. The heaters start to come in to play, colder temps mean longer to warm up and the colder air passing over the rad means greater cooling, exposing a weak thermostat.

It's worth replacing as the engine running cold will changing the fueling, costing you more fuel, which in the long term isn't any good for the engine or cat converts - nevermind your wallet and performance will suffer.
 
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