Hey guys
Hope I'm posting in correct place.
So I have 2 questions I need help with.

1.) Will this thermostat work? As pictured, the original thermostat is centered in the middle but the new one I got from Advances Auto is slightly to one side.
Wasnt sure why. Will it still work? Temp keeps reading 184 now instead of 194+. They said it was correct for my 1996 3.0 v6 ranger.

2.) I found another plug thats not plugged into anything again. Any idea what this is for?

Any help is appreciated guys! Thanks!

Orignal Thermostat

original

New thermostat, slightly to the left

what is this for?

 

Doesn't matter about the thermostat, as long as it's the right diameter and it's put in the right way.
Don't know about the plug, but maybe it's for the fog lamps and in your truck they were never installed, so the plug isn't used ???

 

+1 ^^^

Jiggle valve goes at 12:00, spring side of T-Stat goes in the engine side

Jiggle valve is the little pin, in t-stat plate, it lets out air when refilling the cooling system, so you want it at the highest point

Vehicles are often wired for all options, so finding a connector unplugged is not that unusual, but.................they often have a plastic piece plugged into them, but not always
What color are the wires?

 

That connector is for the cruise control deactivation switch, which is the bright red thing attached to front of the brake master cylinder.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Ah, I dont remember if the jiggle valve was at 12 but im sure it was pretty close. Does it make a huge difference?
Any idea why the temp is staying low after replacing with new thermostat?

 

Because the thermostat on your Ranger is in the horizontal plane, it doesn't matter where the jiggle valve goes. The air will escape no matter where it's placed.
Manufacturers make one thermostat to fit different vehicles, so if this "off centre" one you have was placed in a vehicle where it mounts vertical (or sideways), the jiggle valve would be at the top (or 12:00 O-clock) so air can escape.
My old Mazda B2200 has is like this.

And about the temp, what does it say on the box ?

 

Just to add a bit more information, my 2003 3.0L NON Flex thermostat was round except for one side had a bit of an oval shape to it, this is to ensure that the thermostat only fit in one way. HTH

 

Says its the OE Type Thermostat; Temperature: 195 Degrees.

 

Also I have another question. I normally use Peak Long Life 50/50 Coolant but I needed more to top off the system but Peak was sold out
at my local store so I purchased Supertech 50/50 Extended Life from Walmart but the color is more of a neon yellow and not as green looking
as the Peak brand. Is it not a good idea to mix the two cause different color?

 

Read the labels, there is no standard for colors

there are only 3 kinds of coolant
1. Silicate based it was the first, 2 year life, it can also be called Inorganic Acid Technology(IAT) by some "retards" in the coolant business, lol

2. OAT(organic acid) base, came out in late 1980s, 5 year life
The above 2 CAN NOT be mixed, or you will end up with sludge in cooling system

3. HOAT(hybrid organic acid) base, late 1990's, can be mixed with either of the above, 5 year life, so it can be used to top up any other type, or any other type can be used to top HOAT up

Just FYI, "Lifetime" in automotive terms means 5 years, not longer

 

Hey guys,
I made sure there was no air in the system but the temp is still not getting over 185 and the needle goes only to about a quarter of the way.
Any ideas as to what would cause it to stay low? I can only think the thermostat would be the problem.

 

Yup, there is only the one thing, the thermostat, it sets MINIMUM operating temp

 

When i had my auto shop some years back i had many a defective thermostat some did not open at all..... try another thermostat ...if it still reads low forget about it.... or replace the gauge in the cluster...

 

Hey guys, so Im still having problems with this truck and Im about to give up.
I replaced the thermostat 3 times. The last one (ford part) seemed to work best but
the temp never went over 192, always stayed around that or would go down.
Anyways the other day I took it for a drive and it started getting super hot, got up to
230. So i thought id check to make sure no air was in the system and opened the radiator
to let it burp with my funnel and make sure the radiator fluid was going down once it go to temp
but it seem to take in the fluid then rise back up then out of nowhere the fluid started rising
and poured out everywhere out of the funnel. Only ran it for 10min with heat on.

So problem is now overheating and temp seems incorrect and fluid not going down
when trying to make sure now air in system.
Any ideas? The fan also seems to work fine.

 

So now it's over heating... Odd why it's doing this just because you're replacing the thermostat.
When the truck is fully warmed up feel the rad all over for cold spots, and cold spots indicate that the rad is blocked _ it should be hot all over.
When I install a thermostat on my 3 liter I add coolant into the lower thermostat housing, burping the bottom rad hose as I go.
I bring it just up to the level even with the housing _ I then install the thermostat and continue adding coolant thorough the rad while the truck is running from cold _ all this is done while I'm still burping the bottom rad hose.
While the truck is running the level in the rad will continue to drop as the pump continues to force air into the rad.
Eventually all the air will work out and the coolant will be right up to the cap.
When this happens, quickly install the cap

When adding coolant into the thermostat housing be careful when doing this, the level will suddenly come up very fast and you'll get coolant all over.
Rags around the thermostat housing will help here.

Also, check any new thermostat on the stove with a pot of water.
Take your old and new thermostat and bring the water to a boil from cold, watching both thermostats.
The old one should open first and the hotter one should follow.
When the water starts to reach boiling point, both should be wide open at that point.

 

Thanks for the reply. I already have the new thermostat installed.
Not sure if I should take it out and check it or not. The radiator is actually still
somewhat new, so I didnt think there would be a problem with it but there could be.
The radiator fluid is still super green and clean looking but I noticed rust build up on my new
rad cap. Possible clog?
I drove it for about 3-4 weeks and it always had a lower temp or it fluctuated, so not
sure why now it heated up out of nowhere. Hopefully not a hard fix.

 

If it continues to over heat, then I would remove the thermostat and check as described above.

Hard to say if it's overheating because of rust build up.

These engines do have a problem of rust and sediment building up in the block, but because the coolant is still super green, then I can't see that being a problem.
I would still check the rad for cold spot, it's easily done.

 

Gertsy, in post #1, what was the reason for changing your thermostat in the first place? Were you having cooling problems?

 

Yes, the temp kept going up and down constantly. So I had switched out the sensor first but it still kept having problems so I then changed the thermostat and then had
problems with it always staying cold. Switched out the thermostat 3 times and it did not fix the problem, always stayed mostly on the low temp end but then the other day
it shot up and got really hot. Not sure if there a clog or something maybe. Also 2 days ago I tried checking for trapped air in the system and let it run for a bit with cap off and funnel in it and the radiator fluid
came pouring out of the top where my funnel was.
Been having problems with this truck for a year now.

 

Have you done any test to make sure you don't have a blown head gasket or cracked head?

 

No, I havent done any test. There is a small oil leak around the engine, I assumed maybe the seal was getting bad so i used lucas stop leak
and that helped a lot. I'm hoping its not a cracked head or blown gasket. Havent looked up how to check that yet.

 

Hey just been through all of this did you get your truck fixed or not be happy to share my experiences with you if you still need it

Larry

 

Sorry for the super late reply. Sadly I still have not fixed the truck. I took it to a mechanic and he said it did not have a blown head gasket and that it was normal on ford trucks for the
thermostat to go up and down on Rangers. I don't think so though, as I never had that problem on any past Rangers I owned.
So it still go up and down, gets to operating temp then drops right back down. Also found out the mechanic thought maybe radiator fluid was being burned up in the intake from a leak/crack
but he wasnt sure. So no help there.

 

Late reply but rust was from the radiator reservoir having rust in it, as it had sucked it out from there when overheating.
No head gasket leak but possibly buring off radiatior fluid in intake from crack/leak maybe. That what my mechanic said. Temp still going up and down. Hits operating temp then drops still.