Making heater blow hotter?

[marlinh]

If you have silicon in the coolant it could also get lodged in the thermostat and create problems.

[4wdEconoBox]

That't what I plan to find this weekend, I might actually have time to do it tomorrow, but I'll just have to wait and see how the weather plays out haha.

[dlb]

from my experience, i would also be concerned about the temp gauge going up that high on a frequent basis. if everything is as it should be, i think the gauge should only go up that high after prolonged idling, or maybe on a long, steep drive up a pass. again, that's just my experience.

[4wdEconoBox]

Well it doesn't do it all idling, but it mainly only does it when going up, I guess, kind of steep hills with my heater on high, if my heater isn't on it doesn't do it as bad...But I drove it 150+ miles today and she didn't rise that high, but then again I didn't have to go over any steeps hills and my heat was only on 2 or lower...

Back to the heater, it was blowing so hot today, that I was burning up and could only stand it on one of the lower fan speeds, 1 or 2, and that was in 30 degree weather!

[Petros]

...kind of steep hills with my heater on high, if my heater isn't on it doesn't do it as bad...

the heater draws heat from the coolant, it should run cooler when the heater is on. sounds like you got a bad thermostat. Get a good quality one, made in USA or Japan (not one made by communists in China), should cost in the $15 to $20 range at normal retail price (rockauto has good brands cheap).

Also, replace the radiator cap if it is at all old or questionable. It acts like a pressure regulator, if the gasket is bad or the valve built into it is stuck or working improperly it will also cause temperature fluctuations.

[lannvouivre]

What the hell is that??!?

Cooling system leeches. That's why you should change your coolant when it's old

I have had people argue that old coolant is fine, but both of the Tercels had massive plumbing corrosion issues.

Jim, what foam did you use? I had to do the heater core and the flaps shed everywhere and I wiped it all off when I became concerned about inhaling it.

[4wdEconoBox]

Yeah, thats what I thought about the heater too. The thermostat was replaced at the same time as the radiator with a $20 "Fail-Safe" brand, the most expensive one I could find locally, about the only thing that hasn't been replaced is the radiator cap, as far as I know its the original one.... :/ I might swap the newer looking one off the 87 tomorrow and see if that helps out any. I haven't even thought about that though!

[splatterdog]

Should've spent the $20 at the dealer. Those "failsafes" are a waste of money. Just never saw any benefit. All stats go full open when needed. Why have one that locks itself in that position, that now requires replacement, or at least removal and resetting.

Gates flush gun works wonders for heat...

[4wdEconoBox]

Well, I think, and I may have misunderstood, the biggest thing with them is that I won't get stuck in the closed position, like if your car starts overheating, it will open up and stay open until it cools down? Maybe? Heck idk, I'm just trying to find a way to justify spending that much for it hahaha...

That does look like it would work pretty awesome!! It'd be a good tool to invest in!!!

[teranfirbt]

I've had a couple of stats that had weak springs and would get sucked open by the water pump, stupid aftermarket crap... EBay has factory stats for around 20 bucks shipped that are way better than anything the aftermarket has.

In any case, the stat doesn't just get to temp and go full open, it's constantly modulating flow to keep the engine at the set point. If you start going down hill it can actually fully close until the engine gets back up to temp.

[irowiki]

Fail safe thermostats have a lock that if the engine overheats, it locks the thermostat at the "past normally open" position.

I've had good luck with Stant thermostats in tercels, but in my camry's I use OEM.

[4wdEconoBox]

Well I replaced the radiator cap with the one from my 87, and it definitely fit in the radiator tighter and seemed to work better, but I never ran the heater at full blast and never went up any steep hills either...So it might have not had any effect haha. I'll keep that in mind if flushing the system doesn't help my problems, where do you pick up a Stant thermostat from? I feel like that might have been the brand I had before I bought the Fail safe one....

[Petros]

I bought a "NAPA gold" t-stat for our Mazda, it was made by Stazt (said so on the box).

[splatterdog]

Get an oe stat, or Kuzeh, the oe supplier.

[4wdEconoBox]

So all of those that called silicon being stuck in my thermostat seems to be a winner haha.


I just ran vinegar through the system without the thermostat and it came out brownish when I drained it, bout to backflush the whole system with water and I'm gonna see what at comes out!