Hopefully I did it right?

[#1Aggie]

Today, I changed out my thermostat with a Motorcraft 197F thermostat. My old one was also a motorcraft.

One big question I have is what is the little ball check for and and what orientation should it be in. Looking into the housing, there was a gap between 11 and 1.

So, I guessed that is where it was supposed to go. And no I did not look before I yanked it.

Since I changed it out, my temp is now up from between the O & R to between the R & M.

What is normal? I changed it out because it would take forever to warm up.

One other thing I have noticed is now the temp guage does not drop until I start the engine back up and get circulation back.

Did I put it in correctly at the 12 o'clock position?

 

[Texan01]

Check ball should be on top. It's there to allow for air trapped to get out.

OEM temp for the t-stat is 195 or so.

your temperature blend door for the HVAC system may be broken and not allowing it to go full hot.