So the temperature is starting to drop around here and my Z is taking way too long to warm up. I'm guessing my thermostat is stuck open but I could be wrong. Any other reasons why my car would take so long to warm up? If it is the thermostat, are they expensive to replace? How hard is replacing one?

 

And what are you using to monitor the temps?

 

Well the temperature gauge for the most part. But it's easy enough to know whether the car is warmed up or not based on the feel of driving it, at what rpm it idles at and whether the defrost blows hot or not.

 

if memory serves the temp gauge doesn't even start moving until 121*.

 

I would think it would hit 121 after my morning drive. This morning it was probably 40 degrees outside (maybe a little less), I let the car warm up for about 5 minutes and drove for about 3 miles in traffic (15 minutes) without the temperature gauge even moving. This is why I'm thinking there might be a problem.

 

I would just replace the thermostat - they are pretty cheap and (although I don't know your exact model) should be pretty easy to replace.

 

I have a 1991 300zx and the part is only like $47 so I'll probably just replace it. Here is a link to a page that describes replacement in case anyone else was wondering.

http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/300...t-replace.html

 

Lol, that's for a z31, you have a z32...


To start, you will need to jack up the car and place it on jackstands, remove the coolant and remove both radiator hoses, remove fan shroud, remove fan, loosen and remove the water pump/alternator belt, use 1/4 drive allens with a long extension and remove the upper water pipe (7 bolts) then remove the three nuts on the lower water pipe/tstat housing.

If you know what your doing and have experience it could be done from start to finish in about 1.5 hours, if it's the first time it's been done on your car you will most likely have to replace the two rubber couplers and maybe the metal pipes that bolt to the block.

 

Sounds pretty complicated, I could probably do it but I think I'll have a shop take care of it because I'll probably have other maintenance done soon anyway.