Re: M37 Heat - Water Temp


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Posted by Alan Bowes on January 31, 1998 at 18:10:18:

In Reply to: Re: M37 Heat - Water Temp posted by Stephen W. Thomas on January 29, 1998 at 19:56:54:

Whether the thermostat ever opens in very cold climatic conditions depends as much on driving conditions as ambient temperature. If you are not lugging the engine, if you're driving conservatively on flat ground instead of climbing hills, or if you're going down long grades, the engine isn't doing much work and it produces a lot less heat. If you have a heater that recirculates interior air, that will also make a difference. A heater that is always drawing in 100% fresh air at a very low temperature will do a lot more engine cooling than a heater that is recirculating already-heated air in the interior of the vehicle.

I lived in Bemidji, in northern Minnesota for a couple of years, and it was routinely 30 degrees or more below zero F. in the mornings...sometimes -40 F. At that time, I had a Ford F-250 4x4 with a 360-inch V8. When I was just poking around town, the heater never seemed to get very warm...just tolerable...and the engine didn't quite make it to its thermostat rating. However, when I was cruising home on the highway and making the engine work harder, it got a lot warmer inside the cab, since it was actually reaching the 180-degree thermostat-opening temperature.

I don't have any extreme-cold data for an M37, but I don't see any reason why it would be any different.

All that said, it could still be nothing more than a faulty thermostat.

Regards,

Alan



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