I Just bought this Custom Cruiser and the temp gauge never really moved. I thought it might be the gauge. Well I changed the heater core today cause I thought it needed it but it was dry inside the housing. So after I got it bottomed all back up and got new fluid in it. The old stuff was horrible. SO I fill it and run it for awhile but it never really warms up. Things I did notice is tha the clutch fan seems to push alot of air all the time. It does look fairly new and in good condition. The radiator cap stayed cool the whole time. I am wondering wether it is a combintation of the clutch fan and maybe the previous owner put in a really low thermostat either because of a cooling issue or maybe thinking it would help with emmissions. Any thoughts?

 

does it have a tstat in it?

 

Or the thermostat could be stuck open. Also, does the clutch fan spin freely?

 

Many people make the error of taking the stat out completely. Pull the upper rad. hose from the t-stat housing to see if one is there. If there is one there, replace it with a new 180* one.

A dry heater core sounds strange...

BTW. very nice sig picture! Wheels look just right on that wagon.

 

Couple of thoughts. First, the 307 is the only Olds engine I've ever worked on where I had trouble getting all the air out of the cooling system. Air pockets can fool the temp sender into thinking it's cold and also cause lack of heat from the heater. It usually takes me a day or two of driving and topping off the expansion tank before it stops taking more coolant.

You didn't say if you actually checked or replaced the sending unit.