1998 Toyota Corolla not fully warming up

[AKhan87]

so I have had over heating issues on a vehicle in general but never a car not fully warming up, what could be the cause? I drove the car 20 miles on the highway to no avail.

Background on the car:
bought 10k miles ago, immediately engine was rebuilt by me, water pump on the vehicle seems to have been replaced but I never touched the thermostat to know. I did 10 D & R after engine rebuild with distilled water and then poured in the 50% coolant that the vehicle requires and topped off with distilled water whenever it was needed, 10k miles no issues but today after 20 miles, the vehicle never reached operating temperature (the coolant I guess).

 

[Revving2Redline]

Maybe not. It's cold enough that if your driving into the cold it just may not get up there. Drive around city blocks stop and go. It should be warmer than if you did a 20 mile highway run in this weather. I'd think maybe thermostat blew open. Best of luck to you! I've seen truckers put covers or cardboard in front of their radiators to help retain engine heat so you might try it and see. If mpg is awful, its not getting to operating temp and I would look at thermostat

 

[901Memphis]

Classic stuck open thermostat

 

[Oil Changer]

No offense, but you leave me scratching my head. You know enough to rebuild engines but can not diagnose a simple no heat issue on a simple vehicle?

 

[typ901]

I had same problem in my '07 M-B. Thermostat replacement fixed it.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Classic stuck open thermostat

+1

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: Oil Changer
No offense, but you leave me scratching my head. You know enough to rebuild engines but can not diagnose a simple no heat issue on a simple vehicle?

I skipped to rebuilding engines, there is no in between for me, I started to change my own fluids and then skipped to rebuilding engines because my wife's 01 celica GT, she loved it so much and I found a DIY online for that engine and since then I have done 7 1ZZ-FE, 1 D16Y7, 1 2AZ-FE, 1 2ZZ-GE none if them burn a single drop of oil anymore. Diagnosing the symptoms requires knowledge of how things work and experience, and I have neither.

Rebuilding a running engine for oil burning, is a joke, you loosen things up, then clean up things and torque everything to factory spec, it's not rocket science that people make it to be...

I'm just a college student doing whatever to make ends meet, so please stop scratching your head and offer advice if you can.

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Classic stuck open thermostat

So when I drove the 20 miles back home, engine coolant finally got to full operating temperature 15 miles into the drive, but when I slowed down near my house, the needle very slightly dropped, is it possible for a thermostat to be intermittent?

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt
is it possible for a thermostat to be intermittent?

The engine develops more heat under higher load. When the load drops, heat will drop as well. A defective thermostat will result in exactly what you're seeing on the gauge. (A defective thermostat will also cause older automatic Toyotas to refuse to shift into overdrive.)

Replace the thermostat with a new one from the dealer. I've had too much trouble with aftermarket ones, and zero trouble with OE ones, which is why I recommend OE.

 

[demarpaint]

Have you taken a reading with a non contact laser thermometer of the highest point on the thermostat housing? It saved me a lot of time replacing a thermostat I thought wasn't working properly because of the reading I was getting from my glorified idiot light temp gauge. Find out the temp the thermostat is designed to open at, take a 25-30 minute run and get a reading. As it turns out my thermostat was a 195F thermostat and the housing was 196F IIRC. It might save you some time and money too.

 

[CourierDriver]

Lets see 1998-2015 = 17 yr old auto, yep, like us, we get old and have problems warming up, imho. have some fun, change out the stat, buy 2 gallons of antifreeze, change the hoses, dont forget to rod out the radiator or just replace it,,,,do all that and your maintenance was worth more then the car, but--- you had some fun,imho. Men do that.

 

[GenesisGuy70]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Classic stuck open thermostat


+2

 

[GenesisGuy70]

Originally Posted By: CourierDriver
do all that and your maintenance was worth more then the car, but--- you had some fun,imho. Men do that.


Story of my life.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: Throt
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Classic stuck open thermostat


+2


+3

 

[Errtt]

I'd replace the stat with a new OM - as you mentioned you haven't... it's a good start to get that out of the way 1st & easy/cheap.
Check the rad cap is good & gaskets clean too. Not saying it's your problem, just seen so many out there overlooked far to long, so while messing with anything cooling system, a quick check on little things always nice to throw in.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt


I'm just a college student doing whatever to make ends meet, so please stop scratching your head and offer advice if you can.


Change the thermostat.

 

[Quest]

change the thermostat, flush the cooling system and then take it from there.

Q.

Oh and BTW: being a poor student has nothing to do with learning how to make things right to begin with. Kudos to you for giving the engine a once over, but you still miss out on most of the fundamental things during an automotive servicing/maintenance.....

I was a poor student on govt loan also (back then), I rebuilt cars for myself and my friends but never missed out on thermostats, wheel bearings, and brakes. I spent my hard-earned mullahs on fresh new tires for my cars so that I can travel to and back to school in a safe manner up north....

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: Throt
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Classic stuck open thermostat


+2


+3


+4 My 94 Corolla had the exact same symptoms when I bought it; a new Stant Superstat fixed the issue.

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: Quest
change the thermostat, flush the cooling system and then take it from there.

Q.

Oh and BTW: being a poor student has nothing to do with learning how to make things right to begin with. Kudos to you for giving the engine a once over, but you still miss out on most of the fundamental things during an automotive servicing/maintenance.....

I was a poor student on govt loan also (back then), I rebuilt cars for myself and my friends but never missed out on thermostats, wheel bearings, and brakes. I spent my hard-earned mullahs on fresh new tires for my cars so that I can travel to and back to school in a safe manner up north....

Oh trust me I'm willing to learn, that's why I'm on this forum asking how and fixing it all myself, I'm OCD when it comes to cars, so I trust myself more then mechanics.

and yes rebuilding an engine for oil burning is wayyyyy cheaper then Tires, and I have been buying good tires since I started on BITOG, before that I figured any tires will do but give me the cheapest.