thermostat problem 2.3 4cyl

[dhdaniel]

Today was my planned maintenance on my 2006,
Replaced hoses, belt, water pump, and thermostat
Only Stat that Oreillys had was the 180, I think the factory is a 195
Went ahead and put it on, had to get it running.
Will this temp change cause any problems?
My scan gauge usually stays in the 230-240 range
so far I am now about 215-220


thanks
Dave

 

[bmerr98]

I think you'll be ok

 

[Andy D]

I have been working on my cars for nearly 50 yrs. I have replaced one thermostat in that time. I think the engine had about 200 k on it at the time. Many parts are swapped before their time due to poor diagnosis. My BMWs are 26 yrs old with ~ 150k miles each. Both have many original hoses doing just fine. They have a low coolant sensor in the tank. I keep a gallon of 50-50 coolant in the trunk. The Rat has a few factory clamps , so maybe the hoses are factory. It doesnt travel far with out tools and spares either. In '12, I drove it to Mississauga, ON and back.with no under hood issues. I consider the 150 miles home from GT Barrington in 4 WD on the front end, the leaky diff front end to be a worthy test. The rear U-joint I put in, spit a cap.

 

[RonD]

Yes Ford t-stats are 192-195deg
Your MPG will go down a bit, but not a lot, power will go up....but not alot

T-stat sets Minimum operating temp, so going down in temp is fine unless you live in an area that gets very cold in the winter, then you might miss those extra degrees when it's heater time.

Just FYI, Scan or temp gauges are reading OHMs not real temperature, if you get a chance one day see what the actual temp is with infrared thermometer so you can "calibrate" what you see.

With a 180deg t-stat your 2.3l should be running at about 190-200deg, those engines just don't generate much heat for the size of the cooling system when t-stat is open.