Hey guys, Red just got back from the shop and a few small things have popped up. one thing may not be an issue, the other one is just a light out on the dual climate control. The one that im concerned about is that the car is not warming up properly. I dont have a CEL but even after an hour of running the temp gauge barely shows above 140 and wont warm up. the heat blows warm too almost hot. So my assumption is the that thermostat is bad. Does this sound like the right solution or should i keep looking?

 

Could be, change t stat and do a coolant flush while you're at it.

 

Hay David, I don't really have an answer for you, but I will tell you that since the temperature here in Jersey has dropped below 55°, my temp gauge sits about the same, 145°. The other night though, after driving home, I stopped at a wings place, and left her running cause the Mrs. and Dweeb wanted to wait. When I came back after 15 minutes, the heat was blasting, the coolant fans were running, and the temp on the gauge was dropping. I don't know what the temp has been in Washington or that my car is the norm, but Maybe.........

 

It has been a bit chilly jere jc. Supposed to normal out next week so we will see. The a/c buttong likes to keep pressing itself too so the it will be running everytim I turn the car on.

 

If the engine is coming up to temperature but your not getting heat, it sounds like the heater core is plugged up. Give it a good flush

 

David,
One other thing to consider, Not sure if you have recently done anything with the cooling system... or If you have repaired any leaks etc...
But if you have..

Does it have a 50/50 mix? Or is it pure anti-freeze? If its pure anti-freeze, it will warm up to temp..But you wont have any real heat. eventually it will
cause some leaking issues as pure antifreeze will eat thru the copper connections in your system.. like a heatercore.

Maybe you have a to cold/stuck open thermostat? From the factory mine came with a 195 T stat.. That's what I have replaced mine with.

Brent: (Juniorcar welcome back long time no see)

Is correct it could also be a clogged heatercore and you may need to thoroughly flush the system.. Just remember.. When you do have it flushed out be sure to remove all the air completely from the system after the flush fill!

 

I'm getting ok heat but the engine isn't coming up to temp its sitting around 140-160. I flushed the whole system when I changed the coolant elbows a few months back and refilled with 50/50 dex cool. I was worried its the heater core but the fact that the temp gauge isn't showing it warm is what makes me thinks its not that.

I'm gonna wait for ghe temperature to get around 40 here before I change the thermostat. If it doesn't warm up in normal weather than ill know its broken for sure.

 

Let me see if I can follow/summarize. You get a CEL and it claims the car is not getting up to operating temp AND the air blowing out is warm at best....

Change the T-stat. You can do a coolant flush (it's not a bad thing and should be done periodically) but you should not loose much coolant from opening the T-stat housing on a 3800.

FYI - I believe the 2nd year I owned my Monte, I got that CEL in the fall (only popped once and went away) but I changed the T-stat to be safe, never saw it again.

 

No CEL, just temp gauge not showing car warming up past 150 and heat blowing warm at best.

 

I did my thermostat in the spring, and a flush when I did my coolant elbows. My temp gauge does come up to 140° to 160° in a reasonable amount of time. I did install a 185° T-stat and have had no problems that I can tell. Even with the lower temp on the gauge, the cab does get warm enough So my toes don't freeze. And like I said. If after driving a bit if I let the car sit and idle for about 15 min, the temp on the gauge goes up till the fans kick in and then drops as expected. Once I start driving again it drops back to 140 - 160° and stays there. So I can't say if this is normal or not. It has been anywhere from 28° up to 60° here. And the temp gauge does read higher at 60° than at 40° So I just think it is a normal reaction to the outside temp. On my car at least!