the temperature gauge that is...since the weekend no matter how long or how hard I drive the temp gauge never goes above the quarter mark (usually stays at the half mark). This is a weird problem because it means the engine is overcooling???? It drives fine, no smoke, no weird smell. I drove it today up a long hill and it goes up to a point a little lower than the halfway point, but as soon as I stopped for traffic it goes down to less than the quarter mark. I will be taking it to my mechanic next week for complete maintenance and such...just bothering me. What could it be? thermostat stuck open?

 

one of two things:

1. the thermostat has failed in the open position. When the car has been on for a while, are you getting heat into the cabin or does it blow luke warm air at best?

2. the coolant temperature sensor is not reading correctly. If this were the case, I would expect that the engine would be running roughly as well.

steviej

 

thx for speedy reply...I get both heat and cold air. Do you think it would be a problem if I drive it around with this condition

 

ok found out the problem...something got stuck in the thermostat, making it open in the open position. I don't know how that little piece of plastic got in there, but it's now out. I doubt the thermostat is broken but I put the new one anyway. ALSO, i found out that the previous owner put the green stuff in the radiator, while I put the toyota red stuff without checking first . But anyways, I flushed it all down with the good ol' garden hose and out some more red stuff in there. Works great now