On a cold morning (40 degrees) my car won't warm up. The temp won't get above 140-160. At first I thought it might be the thermostat. I had a Robertshaw 195. I replaced it with a new 180 degree one. On the thermostat housing there is a small bypass hose-what is the purpose of it? BUT it shouldn't bypass that much water. When the ambient temp is 65 or so it will warm up and I can see on my gauge when the thermostat opens. This engine only has about 150 miles on it. It is a 65 289.
Car won't warm up
- Thread starter fastdave
- Start date
iskwezm
10 Year Member
IF I set at idle or a slow speed long enough the temp will get to 180 then the thermostat opens and the temp will drop to about 160 - 170. Then it might continue to drop to about 140 and stay there.I'm used to it @ least getting warm enough to run close to the thermostat temp. It doesn't get cold here very often-maybe this is normal... I might have to run a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator or put my electric fan back on. What it the purpose of the small bypass hose?
The bypass hose keeps the water recirculating through the water pump without letting it go into the radiator. So when only the bypass is in use -- when the thermostat is closed -- the bypass circuit keeps the water hotter than when the thermostat is open and the water is cycling through the radiator. In other words, the bypass is not causing your temperature drop, the radiator is.
Maybe the Robert Shaw thermostat is allowing too much water to get through. Isn't it of the "high flow" type? Try a normal thermostat -- the kind with the flat valve -- and see if that helps. Running a cold engine is supposed to be bad for it, something about the oil not heating up enough.
Maybe the Robert Shaw thermostat is allowing too much water to get through. Isn't it of the "high flow" type? Try a normal thermostat -- the kind with the flat valve -- and see if that helps. Running a cold engine is supposed to be bad for it, something about the oil not heating up enough.
Az Pete
10 Year Member
Why would getting the fan back on work to help it warm up? Unless you are referring to the fans ability to remain off until warm enough to require it. The paper in front of the rad. stops the air flow, thus helping it warm up (of course you know this). I am in Safford, where it gets a bit colder than you do. I have no problem warming up with a stock 302 with a stock 289 fan and no shroud. I have found that if your timing is to far advanced, it will not warm up as good. The car will still perform fair but it is like the engine is running to "easy". Also, is the thermostat closing all the way even though it is a new one?
iskwezm
10 Year Member
ha, yeah, it ran about 195-200 on Friday, so it wasnt that bad...im sure without the blower it would have been lower.10secgoal said:
iskwezm
10 Year Member
oh really!!!!!!!!!Az Pete said:
, do you know of my family,the De Leons??????My dad grew up there and all of his side is still there. I havent been back there for about 20 years, and yes i remember the winters there.
Yeah, I thought that if the fan stayed off maybe it might warm up a bit quicker. But you are right, once I am going down the road the fan doesn't really matter that much. I dont really have the timing adjusted. since this is a new motor,about 150 miles on it. I have an appointment at the chassis dyno on Friday. The thermostat does appear to be closing all the way. Also I have a Shelby R type front apron so it is getting a lot of air flow. I"ll see what happens after it is dialed in.
mdjay
Premium Sponsor
No I didn't check the sender. Reason is because it seems to work normal when the ambient temp is 50 or higher. I will watch the temp go to 180 then the temp drops to around 170 telling me the thermostat just opened. I think that I may just have to put a piece of paper in front of the radiator until the ambient temp starts to get warmer.
Similar threads
