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My car takes quite a while to get upto temp, about 20minutes of driving and it finally gets to regular temp on the dash guage, and even than, i get half warm air and half cold air (and its -11 outside) comming through the vents...me and my dad figure its the thermostat. The only only avaialbe (i looked for one for a Millenia, not mx-3 cause i have a ZE) and all that they have is a 180* one, which my dad days is too low for winter and i should find a 190*-195*, but i can only find a 180...and the guy at Canadian Tire says that 180 is mazda's recommended and may cause problems/damage if other is used...is the 180* fine and i should be pumping out some nice heat, or is it actually too cold out for any of our thermostats to work properly to give out some nice heat?

BTW, is the K8 and KL Thermostat the same?

<small>[ January 13, 2004, 10:40 PM: Message edited by: Nd4SpdSe ]</small>

I've never heard of any other Thermostat temp available other than the 180.

There's a possibility your thermostat is stuck half open - they can fail that way. The symptoms are that it takes a long time for the engine to warm up (because its being overcooled in that period), it never reaches the full operating temperature if the weather is cold (for the same reason), and it overheats if the weather is hot (because it never opens sufficiently to provide enough cooling).

You could wait for the summer to prove the diagnosis, but I suggest you fit a new one now.

My ZE does the same thing, I was thinking it was a stuck thermostat, but now that I see you have the same problem, I think its just that its been REALY cold and its taking the engine a wile to heat up.

Also, the MX-3 does not have very good insulating in side, I can always feel coold air coming through from the shifter and other areas, and in the summer I can feel the heat coming through. this makes it hard to keep it warm/cold inside the car.

Originally posted by curtklze:
My ZE does the same thing, I was thinking it was a stuck thermostat, but now that I see you have the same problem, I think its just that its been REALY cold and its taking the engine a wile to heat up.

Also, the MX-3 does not have very good insulating in side, I can always feel coold air coming through from the shifter and other areas, and in the summer I can feel the heat coming through. this makes it hard to keep it warm/cold inside the car.

Dito...and i just have teh 1.8L GS.

Quite often with MX-3s, the little rubber seal inside the thermostat assembly gets chewed up and causes problems. Now...I'm talking about the rubber seal inside the thermostat, not the rubber quad-ring on the outside of it. So far I've had to replace my thermostat 3 times. It was either getting stuck open, or the chewed up seal was letting too much coolant flow. I only recommend using the thermostat from the Mazda dealer. Other places don't sell a quad-ring with it.

<small>[ January 14, 2004, 01:43 PM: Message edited by: WyldSide ]</small>

Originally posted by WyldSide:
Quite often with MX-3s, the little rubber seal inside the thermostat assembly gets chewed up and causes problems. Now...I'm talking about the rubber seal inside the thermostat, not the rubber quad-ring on the outside of it. So far I've had to replace my thermostat 3 times. It was either getting stuck open, or the chewed up seal was letting too much coolant flow. I only recommend using the thermostat from the Mazda dealer. Other places don't sell a quad-ring with it.

I'm actually getting mine replaced 2nite, so ill let ya know what happens...got mine from Canadian Tire, in dire need since im driving up to Ottawa friday for the weekend...i didnt know there was a difference, what happens if we don't get a quad-ring thermostat?

The ring he is refering to I belive, is the O-ring/gasket that goes around the outside of the thermostat to seal against the housing. its not a paper one like older GM/ford/morpars use, its a rubber o-ring that has a groove cut into it.

Your right about the gasket, CT had a stupid paper one for $2, but the one that was on the old thermo was still in very good shape, so we reused it...

We replaced it and i get heat, and plenty of it! It also helps went the main ducting is on blower...i remember my friend mentioning he knocked something off the other day when we were feeding the 0-Guage to the trunk for the 2nd battery, now i know what it was...

<small>[ January 14, 2004, 10:02 PM: Message edited by: Nd4SpdSe ]</small>

I get plenty of heat out of my car, so much, I have to turn it down some, its definately the thermostat for you guys.

tons of heat in my car and no drafts either.
and i drive all winter without a coat. i hate coats in cars...

Originally posted by jpwmx3:
I get plenty of heat out of my car, so much, I have to turn it down some, its definately the thermostat for you guys.

Ya, its nice to have it back. I always keep "Fresh Air" to keep the windows from fogging, but i return i get colder air than if it was "Recirculate", but after a few minutes of driving, i still have to turn it down to #2, it was great!

Well I'm glad that helped...

One weird thing tho, i drove it, heat was fine, but my idle was at ~2200rpms, didnt do it last nightm, maybe just a fluke, ill post if it does it again on teh way home

Maybe your ECU needs to learn the higher temperature regime, now that your thermostat is functional.