i recently had to replace the head gasket on my 97 and all through the summer i didnt realize that i had no heat. the other morning i went to go duck hunting and i had no heat (windshield was frozen solid).

anyway, i noticed on my edge evolution that my engine temp is only getting to 186-192. before the head gasket repair, it was always around 200-202. would that make a difference? i looked online and the part number for my thermostat says its a 192 degree thermostat. could i have the wrong thermostat? if not, what else could be the problem?

 

Your temp is fine. You most likely were getting exhaust gasses in the coolant from the bad head gasket causing the temp to rise the extra 10 degrees. You are operating correctly now. 192 on a 192 degree stat. Why would you think something is wrong? The old numbers are just that in this case. Old numbers.

 

I agree that the engine temp is correct. For a no cost check, see if the heater hoses were installed correctly when they did the head gasket replacement. It may not be the problem but it doesn't cost anything to check. You might also check the vacuum line to make sure this was hooked up correctly. Based upon what you said, there is a good chance that it is something simple caused by working on your truck to change the head gasket.

 

Turn the heater on and start your truck, if the heater was not on when they filled the system back up there might not be enough liquid to go thru the heater core. Both heater hoses should be hot to the touch if the core is not clogged. The hoses are different sizes so it would be hard to install then incorrectly. Just a couple of thing to look at.

 

the heater hoses and my radiator hoses were pretty warm to the touch but not hot. ill also add that my temp gauge reads on the low side of normal. also, when i rev it up under accelleration, i do get a hissing sound in the dashboard that starts around 3000rpm and it goes with engine speed.

 

Perhaps they did not install a thermostat when they did the head gasket. This would explain a lot of the reason it is running cold.

 

upon closer inspection, both of the heater hoses are pretty warm and it does get up to 192 pretty quick. i did get a little bit of air out of the system. i can get some heat but not as much as i should. the hissing sound kicks in just below 3000 rpm. could the hissing sound be a blockage in the heater core? im thinking of back flushing the heater core to see if i can get anything out. i did a complete system flush a few years back in my automotive heating and a/c class and the water that came out was pretty dirty so im wondering if there is some kind of blockage. also the heater core was replaced about 4 years ago. the blend door seems to be working. i can definately feel a difference in air temp between hot and cold. the hot side is just warm and the cold is really cold.

 

Back flush it. Dump clr in there and let it sit then flush again.

 

Prestone makes a product called "Flush". Remove all the coolent from the radiator and the block. Put the "Flush" in and drive it for about a half hour or so. Drain it again and fill with coolent then burp it. I did this last winter and it improved my heat temp.

 

I was amazed at all the crud and gunk that came out while redraining after I used the "Flush". It was F**KING gross!