Right I'm just about at the end of my tether with my 2005 fiesta flame 1.4 petrol. Basically iv changed the water pump, thermostat, thermostats housing, radiator, coolant temp sensor, and lambda sensor. Iv just had the car running on and off for the past hour, rid the car of any air locks etc. Now.... the car gets to temp, the top house on the rad gets hot as does the hoses from the reservoir to the engine etc, the hose from the thermostat housing to the engine is hot, but the hose from the thermostat housing to the bottom of the rad is Luke warm.... are my suspicions correct that iv been sold a duff thermostat????? There's water there but it's just not getting hot, my theory is the thermostat is not opening to allow the coolant to flow through the rad. The coolant in there is just what has filled from the top hose while the coolant has been circulating through the engine. Can anyone confirm my suspicions, or am I overlooking something??? Cheers in advance

 

Remove the stat and run it up again, you'll soon know if thats a blockage