Hi guys, I just bought a VT Berlina, great car, but I'm having a strange issue with the temperature. It is taking a long time for the car to warm up, you can drive for a good 15 minutes before the gauge begins to move, and then it never goes above the first line. The economy seems to be fairly poor while it is warming up, and then improves quite a bit once it finally warms up. Does this sound like a thermostat issue?
is it blowing any smoke? It's most likely to be the thermostat, if it is the thermostat, than it'll cost like $25.00 to fix, gud luck!
Yeh sounds like there is no thermosat in there... Or stuck open... But be careful when installing a new one to bleed the radiator
Also you can buy low tem thermosats ...I have a 82 degree one I only have this as it runs 10 degrees lower than stock.....But when my car gets to 92 /94 degrees ..I know its time to top up the radiator....I have done pressure test found 3 tiny leaks in the hose...Replace them also new radiator cap..Rated 120 kpa...commodore manual says sould be 135 kpa...Any way my problem is water gets drawn into the overflow and doesn't return it back to radiator...I have put the air pressure hose through overflow pipe...(thermosat and radiator cap and replacement hose's under one month old).But i'm all out of idea's ??????? Can anyone suggest anything els???????
dont look at it that might help o and with the bleeding a good rev will get the air out and a imean a 30 min drive hitting 5000 all the time very fun
Ifit isnt sucking coolant back out of the overflow bottle you have a leak in your cooling system. After you take your car for a run and turn off the engine, feel under the waterpump to see if any coolant is dripping out the little drain hole underneath. If it is leaking you need to replace the water pump. Also check around your heater tap and the bottom of your inlet manifold for any white or green stains from a coolant leak.
if it does have a thermostat it could just have a low temp thermostat in it. I have a low temp thermostat in mine and the only time it goes above the frist line is when i am stuck in traffic, and on a cold morning it can take up to 20mins before the needle starts moving. good luck with it.
Make sure that you have the correct pressure radiator cap and that it is working correctly. If the cap is too low then the car cooling system will not build up pressure and will not heat up correctly. When I bought my car it had a 90kpa cap on it so it was having the same issues yours is having. Swapped it out the a 135kpa one and it works a treat. Also check for leaks as others have stated some small leaks like the water pump or the heater hose O-rings can be hard to find as they will leak onto a hot engine and dissapear. Usually a pressure test of the cooling system will find these issues.
What temp is your thermosat???? I have 82 degrees one...Mine takes around 10 minutes to reach 82 degrees....Do you also have a 135 kpa cap??? Have you changed your radiator??
An update: I switched on the special menu features this morning on a cold run, the car took a couple of minutes to get up to about 55c, but then it started going up and down between 54-56c. A few more minutes and it got up to about 62, but again hovered between 60-62, it really looks like its cooling itself down at way too low temperatures, ie thermostat stuck open or missing. I stopped for petrol and had a quick check with the engine running, now both thermofans were on together with the engine at 62c, and they both switched off together when it cooled to 60c, is this right, because it seems wrong to me? Does it seem like someone has wired the two fans together? Anyway I've got a new thermostat, will go and change that when the car cools down. Edit: the radiator cap is 135kPa and I'm positive that no coolant is leaking anywhere, not blowing any smoke either.
i think mine is a 79deg thermostat. i replaced it when i blew my last radiator. i bought a brand new 135kpa cap when i bought the new radiator and the mechanic also flushed my system 3 times for me just to get all the **** out and pressure tested it when he put it all in for me. I just drive it quietly until it is warm, so i dont do any damage at those lower temps.
my vx used to stay on the first line for ever unless im caught in traffic, but on the highway, it never moved
