i have a 88 dl spfi d/r wagon ,needing a thermostat, should i run a 180 degree or 192 degree ? during the summer the temp never got above 1/2 , now it goes up 1/8 even after 20 miles of driving , blower works good ,but just no heat very cool , i checked antifreeze it is set for -15 -20 , all fans work , napa said oem is 192 ?? thanks

get a piece of cardboard and try blocking off some of the air flow to the radiator.

The 180 degree will not allow the water to get as warm as the 192 however... you should have heat with either one. Do you have low heat or no heat? I'm thinking that you need a new thermostat regardless of which one you put in.

I would use the 192 in the winter and 180 in the summer. let us know if you got some heat going.

i have very little heat , very cool ,the temp gauge only goes up 1/4 of the way up , even after driving it 20 miles, but the temp outside was 5 degrees . the radiator is good ,becuase when i run the ac during the summer it only goes up 1/2 way , , the defost would not take off frost or if 4 people were in the car , or raining etc,, so 180 should work and make heat and be good for summer , that way putting it in 1 time only

I would stay with the 192 year round, but that is just me. Lots of folklore and myth around t-stats, but my belief is that the hotter the better, as long as it the system temp is kept consistant. The factory designed the system for 192.

 

One of the other members posted recently that his EA82 ran almost all winter with an almost completely plugged radiator, indicating that the subes didn't need much in the way of cooling in colder weather... this engine-as-own-radiator might be contributing to your cool running.

 

Either way, I would start with a 192 t-stat.

 

"Free advice today only!"

i wouldn't be surprised if your lack of heat problem is not related to the thermostat.

 

while you're messing with your cooling system, pull the hoses to your heater core and blow it out. lots of older cars have plugged up heater cores. i've seen all sorts of nasty black stuff come out of those things. remove both hoses and run water through one hose...and watch lots of nasty stuff come out the other hose.

 

parents van needs this right now, has no heat and it was like 0 degrees today. good luck finding running water in these temps. i'm thinking the local car wash.

ok, will do tomorrow ,tomorrow should be like 45 outside , and yes i have running water ,thanks