Average warm up time Options

[valerit1]

What is your average warm up time - i.e. from starting up cold in the morning
to being fully warmed up (temp gauge at normal - almost 9 o'clock)?
Assume you do not warm up idling - just drive. Specifically for owners of unmodified 5sfe.
It is different for different outside temperature, of course.
Just trying to troubleshoot my thermostat issues.
Thanks!

[Bitter]

well warm up time is heavily influenced by the ambient temperature, being that you're in nevada and its probably relatively warm from a cold start to normal temp it should be less than 3 miles of driving. the engine heats faster when it has a load on it than when you're just idling, even just turning on the AC when its idling to warm will get the temp up faster.

a classic sign of a bad thermostat is the inability of the engines temp to remain steady. on a cool day with the heat on and the car moving if you watch the temp needle dip, then come back up when you've stopped for a few minutes and have turned the heat off, thats a good indication that the thermostat is sticking open or partially open. you can also just put your hand on the hoses as the engine is idling, they should remain cool for the first few minutes, if they feel as if they're warming right away then thats another possible sign.