thermostat

[milhovermelho]

My 99 xls has this problem. No matter how long i run the car the temperature gauge never gets out of the cold area, I have to run the care on the high way to get it above the cold area. Do you think the thermostat got stock opend or the sending unit is not good?

 

[BradE.]

If the temp goes up on the freeway the sending unit is probably good. Change the T-Stat.

 

[jasonb]

yeah.. change it. cheap and easy.
sounds like its stuck to me!

 

[milhovermelho]

Thank you I was thinking to have Pep boys do it for me not only is to cold but I'm still recovering from some bad injuries. I have to do the brackes anyway so I ask how much they'll charge me.
MILHO

 

[Bottomlesspit]

Just to let you know...my 99 XLS did the same thing. The temp needle would never get above the cold mark. I only had 29,000 total miles on the truck. After reading the threads on this site, I got the parts and swapped out the thermostat. Problem solved! The old Ford thermostat looked fine, but I hear the Ford pieces are junk.
I used a Robert Shaw, brass thermostat with the weep hole. This was the more expensive one...around $7 but it is high quality.
The performance of the engine also improved a lot after the swap. The engine is most efficient running about 210* so the old thermostat wasn't allowing the engine to warm up to proper operating temp...thus killing performance. There was a very noticeable difference!!! Hey...the heat works again too.
If you decide to do the job yourself...it took me all of 15 minutes to swap the thermostat out...VERY easy. This time does not include draining the coolant out and refilling. I went ahead and used new coolant to be safe. Don't pay too much to Pep Boys for this job...it can be done in way under 30 minutes on out XLS model.
Just some info for you. Good luck,
Ken