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2.3L, manual trans, no AC.. The temp by both the gauge and the vents hasn’t come up to temp since I bought the truck.
I replaced the thermostat thinking it was stuck open, and it persists. The fit of the thermostat in the housing is “different” from every other I have replaced, and I’m wondering if coolant is washing by, which would explain it.
By “different”, I mean the thermostat pushed into the housing, rather than sitting on the block, being retained by the housing.
Is a part missing? This has me going..
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I would make sure the thermostat is the correct one for your application.
You also need to make sure all your HVAC system is working and your heater control valve if that vehicle has one.
I would also be feeling those hoses of the cooling system checking to make sure you have circulation particularly the inlet and outlet of the heater core.
Keep us posted and welcome to the forums.
A few years back when I was working at a local garage, we had a customer come in complaining that her ranger’s heater was cold. The gauge would indicate that it was running cold as well. Believe it or not, the fix ended up being a new waterpump. When I pulled the old pump off, I noticed the impeller was completely rotted away. This engine was also a 2.3 4 cylinder. I’m not saying this is your problem, but its something to think about. Good luck.
If the water pump wasn’t working I would think you would have an overheat condition. As for the thermostat it COULD be at issue as suggested I would say make sure you got the correct one. If it was just your temp gauge that was off I’d say it could be an electrical problem but since you also have issues getting the proper heat I’m leaning toward a problem with the thermostat or something else with the cooling system itself.
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=34531]If the water pump wasn’t working I would think you would have an overheat condition. As for the thermostat it COULD be at issue as suggested I would say make sure you got the correct one. If it was just your temp gauge that was off I’d say it could be an electrical problem but since you also have issues getting the proper heat I’m leaning toward a problem with the thermostat or something else with the cooling system itself.[/quote]
I should have mentioned that I experienced this problem with one of my own vehicles as well. I had a 96 Blazer with a 4.3 that absolutely would not get up to proper operating temps and of course had a cold heater. I replaced the thermostat in it twice with the second one being an original AC Delco thermostat, neither of them cured the problem. Finally I replaced the water pump which fixed my problem. Neither of these vehicles exhibited an overheating condition which does blow my mind. Obviously the quickest, easiest and cheapest part to start with would be the thermostat.
I’d think a failed waterpump to lean for a nailed gauge as well, but it seems to at least warrant a look. Get a day with decent weather, I’ll try to pull it without destroying the gasket.. Gotten good with that over the years, at least on cooling systems. Decent weather, as I’ll be doing in in my dirt driveway.
It was the correct thermostat, unless… I had an 81 Granada that I was always getting incorrect parts for from the parts store.. Turned out it was a mid year model, and numerous things had been changed. I’ll be looking into that as well.Thanks for replies.. If anyone has anything to add, feel free.
And thanks for the help with the Accord airbag, Eric.. All put back together (Accord front ends are fun), and waiting for the $$.
Nope, no midyear changes in the Rangers.. Looking for weather.
If it is the pump, I’ll post pics.Buy a used vehicle, you spent $2,500, no matter the original price. Between tires, brakes, and all else, I assure you the total will be at least $2,500. YPMV but only on a location basis..
I’ve heard of that strange and confusing situation where a bad impeller causes a failure to reach operating temp. The coolant temp sensor is usually up high near the thermostat, and it normally gives an accurate approximation of engine coolant temp when the coolant is flowing. But if there is no flow the temp at the sensor may be very different than the temp of fluid inside the engine. Also, with poor flow there will be overheated pockets and likely steam that interferes with cooling and flow as well. Just for kicks I would take an optical temp sensor and measure temp of the hoses entering and leaving the radiator. With no flow the values will probably be similar, but if good flow is seen then the lower hose should be much cooler. It’s too bad there is no easily available tool that directly measures coolant flow — doppler ultrasound can do this, but such a tool may be too expensive for it’s use in automotives.
I checked the hoses when I came back out of the store today. The top one was considerably warmer than the lower, but not so hot I couldn’t keep my hand around it.
Town is 2.5 miles of highway away, so it should have warmed up, what with the three total stops.One other note; if I put the control to hot, the gauge drops.
That is a normal condition. People often forget that the radiators job is to cool the coolant so by design the lower hose will be cooler than the top hose as this is the cold water feed back to the engine. That said perhaps there is some weight to the water pump theory but if it were me I’d be bleeding out the system first just to see if that had any effect. Air in the cooling system causes WAY more problems than people suspect.
I’ll check that, but the pump is the primary suspect at this point. Apparently, it’s a common issue with these Mazda engines, and with over 150,000 miles on it, it is likely up for replacement.
One thing though, I’m not going with a pump with the punched disk for an impeller. Cardone has one with actual blades..Got the water pump on the way this morning, as well as the other bits that needed to be replaced (idle pulley, belt). Inside of a week, I should be putting it together, and posting pics..
Gotta love eBay for parts..
Hopefully there ‘quality’ parts as you get what you pay for when it comes to automotive parts 😉
Keep us updated!
Got the idler pulley and belt in today.. Pump should be here tomorrow.
Need to replace the tensioner pulley as well. Both have/had a ridge in the center, and the belt was split in two. I figure a week or two on the tensioner with the ridge won’t hurt much, and the new belt ensures I won’t be stranded.Eric would have “loved” this one; reaching through the fan with the bar, having to relocate the battery.. That was the tensioner. If this had the group 24F I believe it should have, the battery would have to have been out of the truck entirely.
And, I’ll get to do it again for the pump, but at least the belt(s!) won’t snap before..
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