1996 ranger stuck on a/c no heat

[Big Jim M]

Thanks

I bought a Stant 195* at Advance Auto and it has the bleed hole, as well.

That is good to hear. Shorter trip for me.
Big Jim

 

[puke]

I just received my official Ford Motorcraft thermostat.
It does not have a little hole like the ones from autozone...so I guess I won't be putting the hole at the top.
ALso, I got an aftermarket gasket...amazon didn't seem to have an official ford motorcraft gasket...and I was hoping one came with the t-stat..but ordered this one with the t-stat just in case.
When I put the last one it,...I put it in the way the old one came out..without regard to looking up if the old one was in correct.....I usually do things that way..but in this case...since I KNEW the t-stat was not original, I should have looked it up.
This time, I am putting it with the tee-pee side toward the radiator and the spring side to the motor. (I'll find out shortly if the old one is correct).

I better get to work. It's dark already.
By the way, the part # is F8CZ-8575-AA, Motorcraft Ford, Made in Mexico.

 

[Spott]

The little hole in the thermostat plate is to allow trapped air in the coolant passages to pass, and make it easier to fill and bleed the coolant system. You can drill one if you want. Drill it at the "top" of the plate, close to the edge.

 

[puke]

Well,
The old thermostat was in "correctly"... and was stuck in the "open" position. It says motorad on it or something. I remember that when I bought it...they recommended a "fail safe' one..so I bought it. I suspect I should have at that point went to someone that had motorcraft and bought the one single "correct" t-stat....rather than being upcharged for a piece of crap.
The original temp guage (a year or two back when I checked and got 181ish degrees at the heater hoses) I had must have been crap....or I probably would have caught it back then.
I do remember I installed a brand new alternator on a car once and it was bad out of the box...back in the days of chief auto.. I should have suspected the t-stat...but not "two in a row"..

Ok,
Theoretically....am I right in assuming that I can now take the cardboard off my radiator and my heater will function fine??? I'm thinking that the t-stat will keep hot water going to the core whether or not the radiator has cardboard on it...so I should take it off. I'd hate to have a heart attack and die...and then have someone burn the motor up come next summer???

The needle on the temp guage now leaves the "C"..and makes it to the first line....or a little better. I know it's not much,...but I can feel the difference in the heater... And watching the temp needle...I can see the t-stat working...just like the one in my dodge diesel.

Thanks ya all.

 

[puke]

Took it on a freeway drive,
The needle get's about 25 percent of the way up,..which was better than not on freeway. Seems like the heat issue is fixed. The heater does not heat up as quick as our honda, but does heat up quicker than my dodge diesel.. So I just took out the cardboard from the front of the radiator. I hope I don't end up putting it back in. It is 20 degrees outside...so I figure if I'm better on the freeway than off...it means that the cardboard can be taken out because the t-stat is doing it's job (of eliminating the cardboard...among other things).

 

[jeremysdad]

Every 'Fail-Safe' I have ever purchased, indeed...failed, but in a safe manner. lol

Pointy end always towards rad (in Ford, at least, with spring towards motor).

Glad you got it fixed.