Engine doesn't get above 140

[redandwhite]

Vehicle:- 1986 Ford Ranger pickup, 2.3 gas engine, 4x4,5 speed manual transmission.

Problem:- Can't get engine temperature over 130 to 140 degrees without covering the radiator in winter.
Heater doesn't give out enough heat for people to stay warm in winter.
Engine doesn't run as efficiently as it should.
The engine doesn't overheat during the summer.

What I have done:- Changed thermostat 6 times:- 2 from Ford dealer, 2 from Napa, and 2 from Schucks. All have been checked in a pan of water with a thermometer and all have been within spec.
Heater hose route seem to be correct.
Temp of the engine and various hoses have been taken and they are all low.
All parts of the water & heater system are in good shape.

Questions:- How should the heater hoses be routed?
What direction does the water run in the heater hoses?
Where do the ends of the heater hoses connect, specifically?
Any ideas, please!

 

[skippy]

have you checked your fan clutch?might be shot,moving too much air.fwiw.

 

[redandwhite]

The fan clutch has been checked by the dealer and one other mechanic and according to them it runs accorcing to spec.

 

[rickcdewitt]

i noticed on both my 2.9l trucks that the slip on connector that goes to the temp sensor would corrode affecting the total ohm's of the circuit and make my truck read way lower than it really was.i cleaned out the rust and used dielectric grease to seal out water.is the 2.3 temp sensor the one wire style like the 2.9l and 4.0l?
EDIT:but then again my heater worked fine?

 

[redandwhite]

the thermocouple reading of the engine and the hoses agree with the temp gauge on the dash

 

[rickcdewitt]

smaller radiator? is yours bigger than it should be?

 

[Dave R]

The water for the heater core is routed from the head to the heater core then to the water pump, the pump 'sucks' the water in but, the heater core doesn't care which way the water flows through it.

If the thermostat is not installed correctly then you will not get heat, I have a keen grasp of the obvious, no?

How could you have installed 6 thermostats wrong? My best guess is that the rubber seal on the outside of the thermostat is not seating correctly in the housing, for some reason.

 

[redandwhite]

The thermostat seems to open at the correct temp (abt 190) but tht temp is not maintained in fact goes down to 130 to 140. This seems to me to mean there is bypass of the thermostat, it is not seated correctly of somehing is keeping it from closing. Any ideas?

 

[tbirdsps]

My 92 has been like that for years. New thermostats don't seem to help. I too have resorted to cardboard!

It's very annoying. The worst part is when you do get it to warm up you lose all the temp when you turn on the heat.

In the summer it has no problem making heat. It's crazy and your not the first person to complain about this. That little bitty one core radiator seems to overcool the engine, except for the summer.

 

[redandwhite]

Thank you tbirdsps at least I know I'm not the only one with this problem. There has to be an answer to the problem!

 

[thegoat4]

Check your antifreeze mix. Getting it wrong can do very odd things to your cooling system.

 

[Dave R]

My best suggestion would be to pull the thermostat and double check to be sure that the rubber seal on the outside of the thermostat was not damaged or distorted when you pushed it into the outlet. Also, the thermostat needs to be pushed down so that that seal is all the way down at the bottom, if you leave it sit up enough off of the bottom lip that it uncovers the hole to the heater hose connection you'll also loose heat to the radiator.

 

[Mark_88]

I had the same problem with my Ranger and ended up putting the cardboard over the driver's side of the rad only. This also helped keep roadspray off the electrical components but...unfortunately...I left the cardboard in on one day when the outside temperature spiked unusually high...ended up cracking the head...

There are higher temp thermostats that you can use also...they tend to stay closed longer (I think that's how they work) and when they do open you get good heat...I don't think I was ever 'really warm' in mine...always seemed to be a bit too cold to make it comfy inside...

 

[anupaum]

I have the V6 radiator in mine, and the engine temp rarely moves above 80 C. I've got plenty of heat though, even when it's cold outside and the wind is blowing.

 

[redandwhite]

I want to thank you all for all the feed back.
Another question allong this same line, what about the fan clutch? 1. does the fan have a clutch? 2. if there is a clutch is it free wheeling untill the temp gets abgove a certian point? 3. when stateing a cold engine does is the fan engaged then free wheeling? 4. in other words if there is a clutch what is normal?