wacky temp gauge
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 423
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wacky temp gauge
Sometimes when I am driving at highway speeds for over 10-15 minutes my temp gauge begins to climb. My truck dosn't seem to act like it is overheating, it runs good and even when the temp gauge is high, if I pull the radiator cap, the coolant dosn't spew out. Its got plenty of coolant and a new thermostat. Any suggestions? Anyone else notice this? Its a 94 4.9, 5spd.
luke
luke
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 3
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From: Fulton USA
wacky temp gauge
I have a 94 with a 302 in it that I bought used this year and I started having the same symptoms when the weather started getting warm. I did all the usual repairs, flushed the radiator, flushed the block, new thermostat, new radiator fan and nothing seemed to work. I finally took it to a mechanic and he did a test for hydrocarbons in the coolant and it was positive. What this says is that combustion products are leaking into the coolant. That usually means one of a couple of things: either the head gasket is bad, or there is a crack in the head or block. It is in the shop right now so I don't know the results yet. If replacing the sending unit doesn't fix the problem, you might have a mechanic do that hydrocarbon test on the coolant.
Dave
Dave
New User
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1
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From: concord USA
wacky temp gauge
Both of my temp and oil gauges would dance all over the place. I took apart the dash, removed the gauge section and found both coils had broken connections to the terminals, in the unit itself.
This is probably more advanced repair than people are willing to do but if you have the patience to work with coil wires as thin as a hair then it's worth it, no more freaky gauges. Naturally, check your sending units before taking the dash apart.
This is probably more advanced repair than people are willing to do but if you have the patience to work with coil wires as thin as a hair then it's worth it, no more freaky gauges. Naturally, check your sending units before taking the dash apart.
Senior User
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 310
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wacky temp gauge
I have a similar problem...My 4.9L temp gauge would start to climb in hot weather or stop and go traffic but it would only get to the A in NORMAL...I did the usual flush, new t-stat(3 times), hoses, water pump, fan clutch, radiator, timing checked, untill finaly found out had a cat going bad/clogged.
My temp gauge would suddenly climb to the A and then if I let off the gas or would idle or coast it would suddenly go back down to the N.
My temp gauge would suddenly climb to the A and then if I let off the gas or would idle or coast it would suddenly go back down to the N.
New User
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: Thornton usa
wacky temp gauge
I had a similar problem and had to change my clutch fan I built a wrench to un screw the clutch from the water pump 
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New User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
wacky temp gauge
I had same issue with '94 F150 with 5.0 liter. Replaced thermostat and sending unit-no change. Took dash apart and cleaned contacts that plug into instument cluster - problem disappeared.
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