Explorer thermostat rises on freeway lowers on city streets

Tiny
QUINNZ51
  • MEMBER
  • FORD EXPLORER
I have a 2000 ford explorer 4.0 liter 4wd 126000 miles. Due to the colder weather I have had to use the heat and have noticed the thermostat acting funny. When I am on the freeway doing 65 mph the temp reading is normal, but when I go to a slower speed or I am slowing down or coming to a stop the temp reading goes down. Any ideas on whats going on before I take it to the dealer? By the way the heat is working fine no problems. Thanks!
Wednesday, October 25th, 2006 AT 8:12 AM

2 Replies

Tiny
QUINNZ51
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!
I replaced the thermostat and everything seems to be fine. Which raised another question: Was the thermostat "starting to go bad" versus a thermostat "going bad?" I have no idea.
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Wednesday, October 25th, 2006 AT 12:01 PM
Tiny
CATCH_15
  • MECHANIC
  • 250 POSTS
The reason it was running at normal temp on the highway is because there was air circulating through the engine bay. Not the cas in the city. When a thermostat goes bad, it usually will get stuck either open or closed. If it's stuck open, the car will run very cool because the thermostat is letting a free flow of coolant. If it's stuck closed, the car will overheat.
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Thursday, October 26th, 2006 AT 11:31 AM

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