wandering temp guage
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2002
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wandering temp guage
just came back from major road trip, 3400 miles, no probs, no leaks, squeeks, just one question...tempguage seemed to have mind of its own, never ran hot, or got higher than the little icon midway, and when it did, always went right back down, sometimes stayed low, sometimes would "wander" up/down, sometimes jerk up a fraction, then down a bit, seemed to have no relation to high speed interstate driving, but did run higher going up those big long hills on i-81. anyway, drained and flushed radiator 6mos or so ago, just wondering if thermostat could be sticky or temp sensor is getting scizoid, or maybe its all normal.thanks guys
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: USA
wandering temp guage
>Explorers are notorious for thermostats going bad. Replace
>it and the temp will come right back to normal and stay
>steady. I'm on my 3rd.
My 91 was overheating, and I had to replace the thermostat, and the Fan/Clutch assembly. The fan blades were cracked like crazy, and the clutch was shot I think, at least that's what the mechanic said. I also replaced the radiator since it had a leak. It's all good now.
How hard is it to replace the thermostat? Isn't there better quality ones available that will last?
>it and the temp will come right back to normal and stay
>steady. I'm on my 3rd.
My 91 was overheating, and I had to replace the thermostat, and the Fan/Clutch assembly. The fan blades were cracked like crazy, and the clutch was shot I think, at least that's what the mechanic said. I also replaced the radiator since it had a leak. It's all good now.
How hard is it to replace the thermostat? Isn't there better quality ones available that will last?
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Joined: Feb 2001
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wandering temp guage
It's possible to have a good thermostat, radiator, water pump, temperature sensor, and temp gage, and still have a wandering temp gage. If that's the case, you have an uneven flow thru your engine block.
The V6 water pump has two outlets, one for each side of the block and heads, the water return meets at the thermostat, then returns to the radiator. So the thermostat has a tough time regulating the temperature when a hot slug of coolant come thru, thus a wandering temp gage. The uneven flow is usually caused by casting defects or a block of sand left behind from the casting process.
Ford has a special pump for these engines.
borland
The V6 water pump has two outlets, one for each side of the block and heads, the water return meets at the thermostat, then returns to the radiator. So the thermostat has a tough time regulating the temperature when a hot slug of coolant come thru, thus a wandering temp gage. The uneven flow is usually caused by casting defects or a block of sand left behind from the casting process.
Ford has a special pump for these engines.
borland
