thermostat temp

[bmw5002]

What is the reccommended thermostat temp. for a 91 rolla? I havent had any overheating problems as im from NJ and the summers arent like death valley. Its winter now and I dont get much heat out of my car even after 10 mintues of running fast idle. It took the temp guage like 15-20 mins at fast idle to get to normal operating temp. and the fan to cycle on. At first I suspected whoever had the car before me might have removed the thermostat or it might be stuck open (got the car this summer), because the car has to heat the entire cooling system's capacity worth of coolant instead of just the small amount that should circulate the engine with the thermostat closed. I took apart the thermostat housing and found a new thermostat, but with a damaged, leaking gasket and the jiggle valve in the wrong position. Currently I have an 82 deg. C (179.6 deg. F) thermo. Is that normal for my car? Would you recommend a higher or lower temp one? Or do you think it was just the leaky gasket causing slow heating, or is it normally supposed to take 15-20 minutes to heat in 40-50 degree weather?

Thanks

[REN69]

Sounds like my car last year.. My car wouldn't give heat when I got on the highway because the cold air would make the temp go down. but as soon as I got off the highway I had normal heat and temperature would go up. The thermostat was gone, so I got it replaced with an OEM, don't use aftermarket for thermostats cuz they crap out faster. Just replace your thermostat with whatever Toyota recommends for your car.

[Flashmn]

Use the stock thermostat or get a new one. Using a higher temp one will give you serious problems. When winter sets in just use cardboard and place that behind the bumper to decrease airflow going through the radiator.

[bmw5002]

Problem IS, i don't know what the stock thermostat is. I don't know if the previous owner of my car put in a new aftermarket one or what. If i went to my local strauss auto store would they know? Where can i look up this kinda stuff? Anyway, about winter, shouldn't the thermostat cycle to keep the block at normal operating temp. all the time? You shouldnt have to put cardboard in front of the radiator if it was working right.

[REN69]

oh geez.. just go to Toyota and they will give you the stock temp thermostat.. how hard is that! usually stock is the lower temp ones.

Flashmn, that's what I got for winter on my car.. actually its made out of plastic, I fabricated a cover that goes on the bumper and 2 that go on the front grill. (if the car seems to overheat, I just remove one of the grill pieces and problem solved.)