i have a 1989 civic dx
i put a new motor in it my old one lost a headgasket at 342000
i put a new rad cap on my rad and new thermostat got all the air out of the system
i get heat inside
the temp will go up to reg in my garage but when i drive it out idle outside it cools down to below the lines
its like -10c here but driving around it will heat up to inbetween 0 and 1/4
but when i step on the gas like higher rpms it cools down two 0
i still get heat inside
the upper rad hose is warm the lower is ice cold
if i put cardboard infront of it and drive it heats up fine

i really needs some help out of ideas thanks

 

1)thermostat is stuck open... new thermo...

2)wacky sensor...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rewerbcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1)thermostat is stuck open... new thermo...

2)wacky sensor... </TD></TR></TABLE>

If you're still getting heat in the cabin and it warms up fairly quickly, I'd say #2. Especially with that many miles (or kms?) on the engine it isn't out of the question that the dist. ring is old and is leaking, then oil got into your temp. sensor and is giving you bad readings. The exact same thing happened to me, I cleaned the connectors with Qtips and electrical contact cleaner, worked like a charm.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fairfro69 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
the upper rad hose is warm the lower is ice cold </TD></TR></TABLE>To me that screams Thermostat & Gasket

 

the motor i took out had 342000 the one i put in has 100 000
and i put in a new thermastat and rad cap in

i actually put in 2 new TS because i thought my new one was faulty

so any ideas?

 

Was the bleed hole on the thermo facing upwards when you installed it?

 

Yes it was