where is the thermostat?! - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

drake900 · 11-30-2005, 22:19

when my car warms up, it sounds like the coolant is boiling in the rad....therefore i think i have a thermostat issue....

can someone please tell me where the thermostat is located in a 1988 tempo?

that would help me very much. thanks!

Cronicus · 12-01-2005, 03:56

the thermostat is inside the water outlet, the crome looking"proly rusted and caked with crap now" thing that comes out the right side of the head.
also 5 buks says ur thermostat is fine, but ur fan is not turning on.
let your car achive normal run temp, "preferibly in the afternoon" and see if the fan kicks on.

drake900 · 12-01-2005, 12:36

thanks for the info...thats where i thought it was too....just wanted to confirm.

buuuut, you owe me 5 bucks! haha my fan is fine....it's the thermostat for sure. fan comes on fine...but the top rad hose is really hot and the bottom is really cold....

Cronicus · 12-01-2005, 17:31

yup thats the stat alright unles...
if u fix it and its stil the same way, ur water pump is out

drake900 · 12-01-2005, 21:59

turns out the water pump belt broke....soo, i am wondering how you tension the serpentine belt....is there anyway to get to the tensioner without that special tool? is the tensioning tool ford specific?

im a volkswagen guy and i'm new to the ford world...so i do appreciate your help

thanks!

Cronicus · 12-02-2005, 03:59

dude i dont quite understand but, ur serphitine is shot?
is the belt gone or just barley hanging on
either way unles ur water pump is spining DO NOT DRIVE THAT CAR!!!!!.
the tensor is not ford specefic although the tool only costs $20 and is sumthing i would keep in my truck if u aint got the $ get a long pole or cro bar and gently pry it up using the fender wall as leverage, and your gona need sum1 else to slap the old belt out/new 1 in.

dagr8tim · 12-02-2005, 20:29

The water pump belt has a seperate tensioner from the crank and serp tensioner. it's more an old style tensioner which is a bracket with the pully on a bolt that you screw and unscrew to loosen and tighten.

Cronicus · 01-19-2006, 21:22

ya i saw that and 1 that had seperate belt for the ac at the junkyard not to long ago.
i didnt see the crank though is it just doubleslotted?

dagr8tim · 01-27-2006, 01:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cronicus

ya i saw that and 1 that had seperate belt for the ac at the junkyard not to long ago.
i didnt see the crank though is it just doubleslotted?

On all Tempo's the crank, the PS, AC compressor, and an idler ran off of the serp belt. On older models, there was a v belt for the water pump of of the crank, and a v belt off of the PS for the alternator. This was up until 91. In 92, they had a single serp belt for everything. Water pump, PS, AC, crank, and alternator.