thermostat stuck?

[g8r]

Heys Guys!

I need your help for my wifes 91 Suzuki Sidekick. On her way to work she said her car was blowing cold air yet her temp guage was high. I am figuring her thermostat is stuck. I am gonna pass by her work on my way home and check out her car. What should I double check? I think she has enough coolant but will bring some anyways. Should I just take the thermostat out or bend it to stay open for her drive home? She said there was no smoking or smells. What else should I bring? Thanks

 

[MrShorty]

If the temp gauge was showing hot, but there's no hot air, I'm not sure I could isolate the thermostat as the problem with that description. I'm not familiar with the suzuki, but I would check blend door operation, heater control valve (if equipped), clogged heater core, or something else in the heater ventilation controls.
If the thermostat turns out to be bad, then it sounds like the temperature sending unit is bad as well.

 

[Billy177]

check to feel if the hoses to the heater core are hot if they are then look into the blend door

 

[g8r]

Well she made it to work and I went over there after I was done for the day. She also had a check engine and battery light on also. Turns out she lost her fan belt. It was kind of tricky but I was able to replace it on the spot. The thing seems to be running fine no lights or high temp on guage, however it still blows cold. Is it true if you ground the wire from the sending unit and the guage deflects all the way the sending unit is faulty? If she overheated before would that cause the thermostat to stick open? Thanks again.

 

[Billy177]

if she overheated before the likely cause would be the thermostat sticking closed

 

[g8r]

If its a fail-safe thermostat doesnt it lock in the open position when the vehicle overheats?

 

[Billy177]

it is a possibility just check the temp gauge while driving

 

[PicoG4]

Is the radiator possibly low or dry?

 

[g8r]

coolant is ok

 

[vsrivastava]

Thermostat on my explorer was stuck in closed position.

To check if the thermostat is working fine, drive the car for about 10-15 minutes and then check the temprature of the upper hose (between engine and the radiator) if it is hot, that means that thermostat is opening and letting the hot coolent flow back to the engine.

Your problem seems like with the heater core... Check the temrature of the hose that's going to the heater core.

 

[vsrivastava]

sorry what I meant earlier was that the thermostat is opening and letting the coolent flow back to the 'Radiator'.

 

[g8r]

Thanks all. It turns out it was a fail-safe themostat that stayed open after she lost her belt and overheated. Replaced it and everything is working fine now. Thanks again.