Overcooling on stock set up?

[phill 92]

Hello again!

I'm sure all the UK forums are full of people with overheating worries atm but my worry is the opposite, i'll start from the beginning:

Right my car has an aftermarket autogauge water temp gauge, when purchasing the car, back when it was cold, it used to run at 55C, since driving daily for 3 months and with the weather getting warmer its started to climb sitting at around 60 now. Out of interest i pressed the peak button on the gauge and it said 75C so i assumed that's the hottest its got and i don't really want to go near that but yesterday it was running at 70C with relaxed driving. So anyway being the overly cautious person i am i sort of over reacted and got the car home and done a coolant flush admittedly it wasn't the most thorough flush, going to do it properly at the weekend! So i took it for a spin and had it back down to 60C, Anyway my old man got in from work after i had done everything and i explained everything to him he just laughed at me saying im an idiot for not checking running temps and that it in fact sounds like an average running temp!

Soo i went straight to Google, 4AGE running temps and everyone has a different opinion! someone was sayin 90-110C running temp others 60 and all in-between with 60 being the safe temp you can start thrashing it! Mine was running at 55ish when i bought it! was it over cooling? Everything is stock engine and coolant wise! and it still needs a decent flush which could reduce temps further!

What does your 16v run at? My standard temp gauge sits at the E in the word TEMP regardless of it being 40C or 70C so i dont really trust it!

Cheers!

[mech5107]

The thermostat is usually opening at 82c so your engine at 60 is still cold.

I'd say you are not overheating it, but on the contrast, it's too low...

Check that you actually have a thermostat...should be running at arround the thermostat temp: 85-90...

[bakonick]

all car usually have 82 to 92 thermostat for fuel economy and good heatin at winter .
the more cold the engine the more power you get ,also you increase the fuel consamption .
usually the cars at morning when they are cold the go better.
all competition thermostat are from 69 to 72 .
if your temprature is around 70 you are ok.
check your thermostat if dont have any install a new one .
so if you want normal drive install a 82 you want to go to play with the car time to time install a 72 .

[phill 92]

Right thanks for the help!

That makes sense and would defiantly explain the reason why temps are so low despite having manky old coolant, just checked my block to see if i could find a thermostat or housing and notce a hole with a blanking plate in next to my oil filter? is this where the thermostat should be?

I'm defiantly going to order one up if it is missing but cant afford £70 for TRD one so standard will have to do for now!

[phill 92]

Oh no wait my dad said thats a mild steel blank thats used to pop out if the water freezes in the jacket instead of cracking the block.

Ive seen my Thermostat housing next to the water pump so ill have a look if its in there this weekend!

[jondee86]

Assuming you have an EFI engine, it is designed to work with an 82 deg
thermostat. If you install a lower temperature thermostat, the ECU will
think that the engine is still cold, and add extra fuel.

Cheers... jondee86

[allencr]

phill 92 Wrote:...cant afford £70 for TRD...

I don't care whether you can afford it, Your engine cannot afford it, beside it being one of the bigger ripoff in internet history!!!!!
You're shortening the engine life, using more fuel and contaminating your oil with acid, water and combustion particles that blowby.
With the thermostat installed you may think that it's using more oil between changes, but it isn't, it was only filling up with shit.

[allencr]

phill 92 Wrote:...dad said thats a mild steel blank thats used to pop out if the water freezes in the jacket instead of cracking the block.
!

That is a core or welsh plug, 100% necessary for manufacturing parts when casting and only by unintentional coincidence will it offer some protection from freezing. Freeze plug is a total error but has become the most commonly used name to keep it simple for the clueless.

Didn't say you NEEDED a thermostat & the core plug stuff, it's time to stay away from Dad!!!!!

[phill 92]

lol admittedly everyone gets it wrong!

Haha yer my Dad can be a cock but hes a fully licensed aircraft engineer and has been for 32 years, ive never seen a problem on a car he hasnt fixed, he's been fixing them his whole life (old shitty english cars which are pretty different to be fair. My 86 amazes him all the time) and has helped me fix countless problems.

he pointed out that my engine probably wasn't over heating but yer im going to have a look at the thermostat housing.
.
I dont need a core plug there is one there i just thought it was a blank for the thermostat. I dont know if i need a thermostat its possible ,given the TRD thermostat temps, that mine could be a TRD unit isnt't it? (that is a genuine question)

Cheers.

[fax0815]

To cold, like others mentioned, take a look at the termostat, might be stuck open, or non in there. I run 85 on normal diving with a stock termostat.
Don´t really need anything aftermarket.
Spend it on something usefull