Its winter time on the Canadian prairies, and with temps hitting the -40C mark, I'm noticing my car is running very cold. My temp gauge 1st marker is 90, and I must be sitting at around the 110 mark tops when it is as hot as it will get. I was going to change my t-stat to the one from my old engine since I know it worked well, but I'm not sure I want to if its just the outside temps doing it. My woman has a little cavalier, and her car holds a good temp, so at this point I am unsure of what I should look at 1st.
Damn car will hardly keep my windshield defrosted on the highway, so I am just fishing for opinions.
BTW its not climate controlled, it is just old school ***** (which are all cracking and junky, so if anyone has anything to say about replacing them would be a bonus too)

Definitely go for the thermostat first. These should have no problems getting up to temp even in extreme colds.

Are the fans running at all?

The heater fan blows, luke warm, but it blows properly. To be honest I haven't checked the front fans in a few months. I ended up with stuck sliders on my calipers, and ended up parking it for a month or so while I got ready to fix it. I don't see why they wouldn't be since we just replaced the motor, and cleaned everything right up nice. Now its -40C, and going outside is like ouch.
I'm thinking my T-stat is stuck open, and it is constantly circulating, but I am no expert. lol

From one Canadian to another .... change your thermostat. Also, use your block heater.

HaHa!
I know man, Been plugged in every night for the last week or so. We had an amazing November, but December is seriously messing us up over here.
I think I will change that T-Stat. I need to re bleed my new brakes and take a look at my PS pump anyways.
I hate draining antifreeze though (groan) lol.

You don't have to drain your coolant to replace a t-stat. You will lose a little bit, maybe a pint or so? If replacing your t-stat doesn't do the trick, try placing a small piece of cardboard in front of your radiator.

Oh sweet. Good to know. My old car i needed to drain some antifreeze to do it. I changed it twice, first I didn't drain any and lost quite a lot. Made a big mess all over :(. Second time I just drained a little, and didn't lose anything.
Thanks for the advice guys!

Sorry to bump up an older post, but I just wanted to resolve this. It was indeed my t-stat. Changed it out. Only took about 5 mins, and now all is well.
Thanks everyone!

Good to hear. Love the easy fast fixes.

Yea Dan,
Short of the few days of cold driving and horrible gas millage, this was blissfully easy and cheap to fix.