Engine Coolant Temp.

[Dave Remillard]

How long should it take for the engine temp. come up to normal range? In the cooler weather, it will take about 15 miles of highway driving to finally get close to what I consider normal. I had the system flushed and a new t-stat intalled, but it didn't change a thing. Any suggestions are more than welcome (at least on this subject)

 

[gitchesum]

That sounds about right for the winters down here. It usually gets down to just above freezing in the winter. You might try blocking the radiator. I've got a thin piece of plywood that I cut a 6 inch hole in the middle of. Slide it between the radiator and the intercooler, secure it and you're set. Drops the warm-up up time to about 4 miles. I've never had mine get up to 190 with the radiator blocked, even in 75º weather.

 

[illflem]

I used to block the radiator and use a winter front to speed warm up and keep it warm but have found that removing the fan entirely does a much better job. Last year I was fan-less from Nov - June, till I wanted to use the AC when the outside temp hit 85°. Once you remove the fan you won't want to put it back on, the engine is much quieter and has more low end power. You're not in as cold of an area as I am but before removing the fan I could turn the heater on and watch the gauge drop all the way to cold almost instantly, even with the radiator blocked. Fan-less my gauge hits 190° in 4 minutes, stays there and the heater keeps things toasty no matter how cold it gets. I also have a air intake temp gauge and found that when the temp dropped below freezing my intake temp was too cool for maximum engine efficiency, removing the fan also took care of that.