Engine Temperature Gauge Question

[mranderson214]

Hey Everyone,

Hopefully someone can help me with this problem (if it is a problem):

I have a 2002 Explorer XLT, V6, 4WD with about 160,000 miles on it. Within the past month, I've been noticing something strange with my dashboard. So once the car engine would heat up, the engine temperature gauge was usually halfway between Hot (H) and Cold (C). Lately, It has been leaning slightly more towards the Cold side of that gauge.

I still have heat, I checked the antifreeze and it seems fine. Last time I changed it was almost 1 year ago though. Doing a visible inspection, it seems fine. I've been on top of my oil changes, getting them done about every 2000-2500 miles.

The thing that I noticed is that while driving at highway speeds (55MPH and up) the temperature gauge will occasionally go up and down extremely slowly. Thankfully, it never went past more than 1/2 way between C and H, so thankfully, no overheating has occurred. Even in the city, with stop and go traffic, generally, it is where its supposed to be at half way between, but occasionally, it drops down to about 1/4 of the way. While at highway speeds, the gauge never touches the C, it the lowest it goes is about 1/4 of the way between H and C.

So, due to the fact that the car runs fine, it still gives heat etc; is it possible that I have a bad thermostat, or maybe I need to change my antifreeze again? Has anyone had any experience with this? I dont know if this is an actual problem, but I noticed this about a month ago and I just want to take precautions. It IS wintertime and where I am, the temperature is usually about 20-40 degrees F now, so maybe thats why this started acting funny. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[corkey]

sounds like thermostat time, even though you have heat, it may not be as good as it could be,,
has fuel mileage gone down a bit?
could be on account of the engine not getting up to temp as good as it should,
i just had this problem on my 99 with the ohv,,
i know it sounds funny, but i picked up 1 mpg at least on the highway, as my engine never went over 160, now it goes to 190 +, which is way better

 

[corkey]

I also have almost 160 k on my motor too,

 

[mranderson214]

Thank you for the reply.

I haven't noticed any significant decrease in my fuel economy. How easy is it to change the thermostat on this model if you have any idea? Because I wouldn't want to pay a shop hundreds for something that I can do myself for much less. I'm pretty knowledgeable about cars.

Thanks

 

[corkey]

it shouldn't be too tough, i am not as familiar with the position of that on your motor, but i am sure somebody that knows will chime in,,
but i did mine on my ohv in about 45 minutes by myself,,

 

[mranderson214]

Thanks for the input corkey, It's greatly appreciated