Originally Posted by
zetec-Sam
The thermostat should ensure this is happening. Only reason it'll not get very hot is if the thermo was stuck wide open, but, it'd still get warm. If it's stuck closed, there is no way that air passing over the engine would cool it down. It'd still overheat.
true but i was thinking that maybe the water is getting hot enough to open the stat but in the cold weather not able to get upto full running temp, especially when moving. i've noticed mine gets upto temp idling on the drive but when moving the temp guage shows it running a little cooler but not enough to close the stat. it may only be 10 degrees or so but could easily be enough to stop the heaters getting upto full temp.