What to diagnose for faulty temp gauge?

[BrianDye]

I got out to AutoZone today, and got a Failsafe 189* Thermostat...

They had that, and then like 140 and 160 or something, so im assuming I got the "hot" one.

Im gonna put it in tonight after I get another ride in on the 3 wheeler

 

[KCwildguy]

It's kind of a pain to change, just be careful to not drop the bolts into the mess of pulleys. Somewhere on here is a good write-up on changing the thermostat, but you really don't need it, just clear the way to it, 3 bolts, check the gasket surface, refill.

 

[BrianDye]

Damn....when I changed it in my 01 Taurus, it was a simple 3 bolts after draining the coolant, took maybe 30 minutes

 

[KCwildguy]

Oh, you'll get it in 30 minutes, it is just kind of a pain to get your hands in there to get the bolts. It isn't hard, just tight.

 

[BrianDye]

Yea I found an all text thread on how todo it, which seemed like it would take a while, but then I found this VERY nice writeup with pics, makes it look dirt easy

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199949

 

[BrianDye]

WOW! Come to find out the gauge works perfectly fine! My engine was honestly running that cold everytime!

I got the old thermostat out and replaced in all of a whopping 15 minutes (Besides draining/burping coolant)

The old thermostat looked relitively new, but you could not push it to save your life, so im guessing it was stuck open, because now my heat friggin BURNS! And my temp gauge gets up about a third of the way, after only 20 or so minutes of idling with heat blasting, man im so happy!

Thank you guys who helped with the info and tips SO much!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for the update!