Stock 1990 IROC 305 5spd (summer conditions no A/C)

If I start the cold car and start to drive, doesn't even have to be on highway, it will not get up to normal temp on the guage. It's only if I have a few red lights or have to idle or drive really slow for it to warm up, then once its there, no matter if I drive really fast while idleing with the heat on full, it will never go back down to what it was before I stopped.

In other words, if I start and drive right away and dont stop at all or long, car will never go over 60 degrees celsius. But if I stop and it gets up to normal (around 105 degrees celsius) no matter how I drive it will never go back down to 60. Also it will climb to max temp, fan will kick in and cool it down, then fan stops and it will climb again, fan will come on.....etc. Even if I'm on the highway, if it's climbed up to normal, the fan will still need to come on eventually.

Is all this all normal? I imagine the fan coming on is normal, even on the highway.....but the car not warming up even in the middle of summer??

 

Sticky thermostat is the first thing that comes to mind.

 

it can sometimes take a while to warm up about 75 degrees here in the morning my 10 min drive to work it is barely over 120... do you have the scoop under the car... very important

 

thats what I would have thought too, except that a shitty garage said they just replaced it less than 2000k ago, but i see all sorts of leakage and gunk from around the gasket....so I know they did something, just probably a shitty job? Not much work to take it off and replace I know, just the time i dont have

it's stock, so the only "scoop" is from the front airdam around the license plate, and there are fog lights stuck in there too....but as I write this I remember I think i took off that bottom "scoop" made of plastic because it kept hitting the ground. Taking it off would only make it heat up faster though wouldn't it?