The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop non truck foreign car question...

Ok, I just had my radiator replaced on my rice burner kid mover car. But now it runs normal operating temperature in town and then goes way back to cold on the freeway. Is my thermostat stuck open? My mechanic is saying sure we will change it if it makes you feel better. But, aren't engines supposed to run at a certain operating temperature? It would seem too cold aint good. Will the thermostat cycle on and off on the freeway to keep the temp constant or do I just have better flow like he suggested?

The thermostat should open and close accordingly to hold the temperature at its rating. So...more likely than not...the thermostat is stuck open...however..more likely than that is that because the radiator wasn't radiatin' then the previous owner pulled the thermostat out and pitched it in the trash. Its an old trick to try to get a few more miles out of a marginal radiator.

The thermostat is pretty easy to get to, should be in the top water return to the radiator. The only thing is that some foreign systems have an alternate bleed point to let air out of the system, otherwise, it won't cool properly.

Thanks, I thought running too cool wasn't right. I am wondering what they might have done when they changed the radiator since the thermostat was working fine before the radiator started leaking and I had it replaced last week.

Anything this new I won't do much work on myself.