Hello and thanks for reading!

I have a 2005 1.6 ti vct mk2 focus

The problem im having is that the engine never heats up whilst driving

Did a 110 mile drive last week and the temp gauge never moved whilst doing 70 (ish!) 

It wasnt until i hit a bit of traffic and slowed down that the temp gauge moved up but not by much

Left the car running the next day and after 5 - 10 mins the gauge was up to just under the 90 mark 

Found people online who had had the same problem and fixed it by swapping the thermostat (thermostat had stuck open so coolant was constantly flowing stopping the engine from getting warm)

This seemed to be the problem with mine as the pipe from the coolant reservoir was getting warm after only a few minutes of running the engine   

Did a previous post on here about just swapping the thermostat but yesterday i bit the bullet and swapped the whole thermostat housing 

The 2 plastic clips that hold the thermostat spring in place had both snapped off so i figured that was causing the issue and would be fixed by the new thermostat

But last night i went for a drive up the motorway and once again the temp gauge never moved

Got home and left the car running and once again after 5 - 10 mins the gauge was up to just under the 90 mark

So what else keeps the engine cold other than the thermostat?

Thanks in advance for any help given!

The fan isn’t running all the time is it?

Could be an air lock run the engine with out the coolant cap on but keep an eye on the level

Has it got an oil cooler? If yes, then there may be a stat on that too. (as on the TDCi mondeo) 

Hello and thanks for the replies!

Im happy to report that the engine is now heating up when i drive!!

Went out this morning and to my surprise the gauge started going up after about 5 mins of driving!

Got to just under the 90 mark and stayed there

Maybe it takes 2 trips for the car to realise that the thermostat has been swapped!?!

Im extra chuffed as swapping the thermostat is the first real mechanicy thing ive ever done! 

Not too many problems left to sort out now...

Thanks again everybody!!!!!

lets start with some basics and stop imagining a complex world....

if it runs it heats up

if the performance and fuel consumption is about right, then its unlikely anything serious... (as it would have died or you'd be worried about other things aside from a temp display)

if the heater works then the cooling system is likely full of water that's going round cooling the engine like it should and heating the car like it should 

if the car runs a bit ***** in very cold temps and the heater doesn't get hot … it might be a thermostat, but more fail on the focus (the electric ones) causing overheating than running cold….

you probably have a temp gauge that's faulty or getting the wrong info... which is a known issue

 

Hi Botus

Thanks for the reply!

As said in last post all works now ive swapped the thermostat housing (my first ever proper mechanic job!)

Just took a second trip in the car for the thermostat to kick in?!?

Car was running right but fuel consumption was terrible (got about 300 miles out of a tank!) and the blowers never got hot

Today i actually had to turn the heaters down!

Off to Devon tomorrow which is about 130 miles so get to see what the fuel consumption is like now

Fingers crossed its better than what it was!