Hi i have a 94 ranger w the 2.3 engine the water pump was changed the thermostat changed twice rad and heater core flushed the only way i can get engine 2 run at norm temps is to put card board in front of rad any 1 have any thoughts? It's still warm here n engine just runs norm temp i no wen it gets cold the temp gonna go down thx for the help

 

You sure the actual gauge is working correctly?

Wayne

 

I dunno if gauge is working right or not i was going by feel w/o card board i can drive for 30 min n air from heater will b just slightly warm plus get right out remove rad cap and put finger in coolant it feels warm but not hot like it should b w 195 degree thermostat. W card board heater works great and engine atlst feels hot like it should and not over heat

 

Who installed the thermostat and what brand was it?

If it was not properly seated in the thermostat housing, the stat will not work as coolant can flow around the gap. There is(should be) a rubber gasket that seals the 'outlet' end of the stat against the inner diameter of the housing. It has to be stuffed in so the gasket seals. I think there are two 'legs' that hold the stat in place, and they(the flat tips on the end of the legs) must be adjusted(likely) to fit in the slight depression around the stat near the gasket area.
If you can put your hand on the upper radiator hose after the engine has run for a while, the stat is definitely not working. The host should be way too hot to touch for more than a second or two. It will hurt.
When all is working properly, BOTH heater hoses will be too hot to keep your fingers on.
tom

 

It's a durlast stat this is the second I've put on there in as many weeks it does have a rubber seal and the legs u was talking about I'm pretty sure it's in there right but I'll check again but this time I'll take rad out so maybe i can see alittle better. When u put stat on do u use paper gasket they keep telling me i don't need it but it will leak every time i try. Would the cardboard make it heat up to norm temp stat wasn't seated right?
Thx for help

 

Stock thermostat is a 195degF, I assume you are using that temp.
They also make a 205degF for the 2.3l Lima.

Easiest way to tell if thermostat is working is to feel the upper rad hose at radiator end.
After starting engine cold, feel the rad hose, it of course will be cold.
After engine has run for 3 or 4 minutes feel it again, should STILL be cold.
If hose is heating up with the engine then thermostat is not working like it should.

The radiator in all vehicles is there to get rid of EXTRA heat, some engines just don't generate alot of extra heat, 2.3l is one of those engines.
In the winter the radiator may not get very warm at all, because thermostat is barely open.

A thermostat it will start to open at +/- 3deg of rating, and be fully open at 10deg above rating.
It is very normal for the thermostat to open and then close again as cooler coolant flows in from cold rad.

2.3l coolant temp sender(for dash gauge) is located at the back of the engine, so gauge will read just above a 1/4 when engine is warmed up to 195deg.
Most engines have the sender near thermostat so gauge will read just below 1/2 when warmed up.

When engine has been running for 10-15minutes it should be warmed up, heater hoses should be 195degF, upper rad hose can be cooler since thermostat is not open all the way.

If one heater hose is hot and the other much cooler then heater core is blocked, plugged up.
1994 model Ranger heater cores are easy to change, and not expensive.


Cardboard in front of the rad is common in colder climates, but it is mostly to stop the air flow into engine compartment not thru the rad since thermostat controls the flow thru rad.
You will often see semi-trucks with zippered covers to block air flow into engine bay when weather is cold

 

You should not need to remove the radiator to change the thermostat. I would remove the upper radiator hose from the housing, and then fiddle with the housing and stat at a more comfortable(light is GOOD) area. The gasket should be pushed tight against the inner of the housing, and be held stable by the legs.
I would clean the gasket surfaces down to bare metal, both the housing and engine block. I would use a normal paper gasket, possibly with the slightest 'wipe' of Permatex form-a-gasket onto both sides of the gasket. The P-tex will help hold the gasket onto the housing or block while the parts are aligned and bolted in place. Tighten to about 10 ft/lb or torque. If you used more Permatex than needed, it will slowly ooze out under compression. Let sit for a while, and then re-check the bolt tightness. If you skip the Permatex or sealant, the bolts should stay tight after install & torque. You do not need any sealant if both metal surfaces are clean and flat. If the housing has problems you can sometimes 'sand' it on a flat concrete surface to gain a smoother surface. Or use some sandpaper, grit side up, on a flat surface, moving the housing in a 'figure eight' to even out the abrasion.
tom

 

Ok thx guys I'm thinking it prolly is stat not seating right i was talking about pulling rad wen i changed stat again is because i put flush in it n thought if it would make it easier 2 line everything up n since i have 2 drain rad anyway. I'm gonna check stat this weekend n let every 1 no thx 4 the help guys

 

Thx for everyone's help it was the stat housing it was corroded where stat seats in i took little round wire brush n put in drill cleaned it out reinstalled stat now it's getting hot like it should thx to every 1 again

Scott

 

2000 ford ranger with 4.0l engine. Engine.got hot on it, changed the thermostat and fixed that issue. Would start it in the morning and within 15-20 mins the engine was warm and ready to go. I have a 2006 ford ranger with 3.0l engine now! Will start it in the morning and wont warm up!!! Seems to be a lot of people having the same issue with rangers. So I've done some research, parts changing and testing. 1: I've changed the temp sensor as gadge wasnt working. Checked fan clutch and it's good. Had dreaded timing cover leak so repaired that ( changed fluids). Changed thermostat at that time. Bleed air out of system when filled 2: +15 outside! from cold ran unit. Used temp gun to shoot above and below thermostat, top and bottom rad hoses and rad. Found unit would warm up to operating temp and thermostat was opening at proper temp. 3: found at cooler amb temp truck engine would take longer to warm up!!! -10 outside. From cold started unit and let run for 15 mins. Truck temp gadge just sat on the C!! Used temp gun and found coolant in engine was not getting warm enough to even open thermostat to let coolant circulate. But why? More testing! 4: -25 outside. Started unit and let run (unsupervised as its v cold out) For 45 mins. When I checked the temp gadge had not even moved ( still on C). Obviously coolant in engine was cold and thermostat never would have opened!! But why again!!! 5: thoughts: :Coolant is new, full and bleed! :Thermostat is working properly (used temp gun) :Temp sensor is working :Water pump it working ( as two to three cycles of thermostat opening with rad cap off bleed air out of system) : System is keeping proper engine temp, while driving around at operating temperature. 6: My last test and conclusion: +6 out today with 15km wind. Started unit, temp gadge very slowly moved up just passed C. So.thought I'd take a little time to mess with it again!!! Checked oil and noticed that the fan on these trucks blow a enormous amount of air around in the engine compartment. So my last test!!!!! I cut a piece of cardboard a little wider than the fan and 8" longer, cut a 2" slice out of it from one end then shoved it between the fan and engine pulleys. Blocking fan air flow from hitting engine. Used zip ties to hold it from rubbing on the fan. Then started the unit. Watch temp gadge and within 7min the engine temp gadge was at 1/4!!!! Raised the Rpm to 2500 to speed up temp rise. When temp gadge was at 1/2 I let Rpm drop to idle and watched gadge. Neddle dropped just below 1/2 (operating temp) and just sat there for 15min. Shut of unit, removed cardboard and.restarted truck. Watched temp gadge and it started to drop slowly. Temp gadge dropped from just below 1/2 (operating temp) to 1/4 within 15min. Wow!!! 7: conclusion: To me the coolant system is operating as it should water pump pumping, thermostat opening at right temperature, temp sensor reading right temps and fan cooling coolant in radiator. Issue: 1)Engine at idle doesn't produce enough heat to over come air flow fan produces! 2)Fan air flow over comes heat produced by engine! 3) ford produced the first water and air cooled engine that's to efficient!!! 4) repair: :Install temp sensor controlled electric fan, the fan will only kick in when engine is at a temperature that it is needed for cooling. 5) Won't blow cool ambient air over engine on startup speeding up warmup time. Just my thought and findings! First make sure the system is doing what it is supposed to then try it.for yourself before spending any cash!!!

 

Welcome to the forum

Use the enter key to separate sentences it makes it easier to read

Many people put card board in front of radiator in colder climates to keep engine bay warmer, its not the fan its the cold air it pulls in
Semi trucks have snap-on or zippered covers for grill when they drive "up north" to keep engine bay warm

Your Fan Clutch may be locked, broken, before starting cold engine, open hood and spin the fan, should be very hard to spin
Start engine and let it run for 20 seconds or so, you should HEAR the fan unLock, less noise, shut off engine
Now spin the fan, should spin easily if its unlocked, if no change, hard to spin, then change the fan clutch, its broken

Fan clutch has the bi-metal spring on the front next to radiator
When its cold, after startup, the spring will pull the valve inside open so fan is no longer spinning at water pump RPMs, and will pull in very little air
As the center of the RADIATOR warms up it warms up the spring and it expands, closing the valve a bit which makes the fan spin closer to water pump RPMs
The warmer the RADIATOR gets the faster the fan spins and the more air it pulls in

When a Fan clutch fails it SHOULD fail in the LOCKED position, its called a "fail safe" mode, because it would prevent over heating in the summer months, and just cause EXTRA cooling in winter, which is what you described

 

Thanks for your response to my 3.0l not getting to operating temp. I copied and pasted this into the forum and it came out this way! To lazy to redo so my bad! Sorry. I understand when it's cold out and the how a winter front stops cold from directly entering the engine compartment, But its was +6 today so should have no need for a winter front. I will definitely recheck my fan clutch tomorrow to verify that it's working properly. Recap: ran it for 15min and gadge still on C, Coolant in engine not getting warm ( no coolant is circulating past thermostat). Shut truck off and let cool down 20min ( needed a coffee). Installed cardboard between fan and pulleys blocking air flow from fan to engine. Restarted engine, Within 7min temp gadge raised to 1/4. Raised Rpm to 2500 to get to operating temp (1/2 temp gadge). Shut off and removed cardboard, Started engine, Temp dropped to 1/4 on gadge in 15min. Will definitely recheck fan clutch tomorrow. Ya think at +6 and the fan clutch stuck that it would prevent the engine temp from raising above C on the gadge. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

You answered that yourself by blocking the radiator with the cardboard, that fan moves a lot of air.

 

Good logical testing and you have the answer without a lot of doubt. In the past, you could purchase a 'shade' that rolled up and down under control of a remote cable. Push/pull and the shade would open and close to regulate airflow through the radiator. Have not seen them in a while.
A slice of cardboard in front of the radiator in winter, removed when spring arrives, and you should have heat in the cab. If the temperature gauge starts to show too much heat, take a rest and move the cardboard back behind the seat for a while until it is needed again.
I doubt I would bother with an electric fan for the small effort swapping the cardboard takes now and again, but it's your choice. You could rig up a section of sheet metal with a hinge and a remote cable as an alternative to cardboard and electric temp controlled fan. Mcgiver it.
tom

 

Rechecked fan clutch and found that its stuck! When I changed thermostat, Did dreaded timing cover coolant leak and other repairs it was fall. As winter hit it seemed to be fine warming up. The last few months it seemed to not want to warm up (thats when I looked into it a little more). I havent ever used a winter front or cardboard other than when its -30 or colder. Only been -30 a few days here or there, Didnt bother me to much but last week we got -40 for a week straight so had to drive across city before it got warm! Anyway I removed two bolts holding shroud on, lifted it off and set it against engine. Squeezed a can of gunk degreaser between rad and shroud. Sprayed down coil spring where it turnes valve. Let sit for 15min and sprayed it again and let sit. Hour later (trucks cold) started truck. Got in 10 min later and trucks warm. Apparently clutch is free now. Probably temp fix till it rust takes over again. Will be.cutting.a custom peice of cardboard for when cold sneaks up again! Thanks all !!!!

 

Good work

Never tried fixing a fan clutch before

 

Thanks Ron D. I've never heard of it before myself. New clutch is $115 - $165. Thought on the off chance there would be somthing someone did to get me by. Googled it and the was a vid a guy made, Removed his and set it on the bench face up. Sprayed down spring and valve with WD and let sit. I just grabbed strongest stuff I had in the cabinet. Thanks again all !!