s2kcolin

Ok so I came home today from work, I have had the car out of storage for about 2 weeks. No drivability issuse... I went to check the oil after coming home and I usually give the engine a once over, in doing this I checked the upper rad hose, it was hot and then checked the lower and it was cold like not even warm. It was only 4c out today and my drive is about 15 min home. The radiator was hot on the top part and warm in the middle then cold on the bottom. Overflow tank is cold and at normal level. Oil looks fine on the dip stick... No white smoke coming out the back at idle or while reving it. I have normal heat and only 3 bars on the temp gauge with it never going to 4. Is this normal?? It starts and idles just fine, I am just seeing if a problem is about to pop up! I am taking the car in to get the plugs changed next week so if there is something I would get it fixed then. THANX!!

I know alot of info but I love my baby.
Ohh it's a 2003 F20C
ALSO I relocated the tank to behind the bumper making it LOWER then the rad cap.... Could that be the culprite?

zeroptzero

it can be normal in some situations, it just sounds like the engine didn't get warm enough to have the thermostat open, short drive in cold temps can do that. Unless you've done some cooling repairs recently I'd say it is fine, if you have done some repairs recently it could have air in the system. I say go out and give it a good drive of 30 miles and check it again, it should be fully hot by then. The rad cools fast in cold weather and the thermostat might not stay fully open.

s2kcolin

Ahhh Ok! I got scared there for a bit, but I put the overflow back up to it's original place to see if it changes.