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fluctuating temperature

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Old May 23, 2005 | 10:09 AM
  #16  
i1dery's Avatar
i1dery
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From: covington wa.
Im gonna try a new thermostat and a flush to clean the system
out, maybe i have somthin gloggin it up the temp sensor than
onto the pump,see what happens.
 
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Old May 23, 2005 | 11:03 AM
  #17  
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Doesn't hurt to try, but I have two temp sending units in my motor and both are doing the same dang thing.
 
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Old May 23, 2005 | 11:29 AM
  #18  
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Could've swore i posted something.
Anyhow Im going to remove the old thermostat and flush the system out. Hopefully flushing will clean the temp sensor and
anything else out,and if that don't work guess ill replace the
water pump.
 
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Old May 23, 2005 | 11:30 AM
  #19  
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duh there it is. Two sending units? wheres the other?
 
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Old May 23, 2005 | 11:56 AM
  #20  
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Well, my truck has two sending units because I have a stock one and an aftermarket one.

Don't replace your water pump, that's not the problem. My F-250 does the same thing also, I changed the thermostat in that truck and it didn't fix the problem either. You may want to hold off on that unless you feel the need to.

I'm in the same boat as you are, tryin' to figure this out, and I feel that I have ruled out those things.
 
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Old May 23, 2005 | 12:11 PM
  #21  
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When I first bought this '90 150 with a 302 last fall the heater didn't work good. Flushed the heater core and my temp gauge started reading lower. Crazy since I didn't flush any of the main system just the heater core. This could mean a restriction elsewhere in the system but my temp reads good so I'm gonna leave it alone for now.

The fluctuations could be the termostat opening and closing from a cooling system that is working better than intended. On my 2500 cheby work van the thermo goes to 200 then opens and goes to about 160 or 180 and stays there. Very odd since its a 195 thermostat. Repaced the Thermo but didn't change the readings.

BTW, where a good location on these 90's p/u to mount an aftermarket oil and water gauge?
 
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Old May 23, 2005 | 12:26 PM
  #22  
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Well then it sounds like a good ol flush is in hand.And does anyone know a good sight for radiators mine has a leak in the seam and might as well get a new one, and befor you answer
its not that thats causing the temp fluctuation it was leaking
befor hand. Think ill do a simple test on the water pump also,
still think it should stay put. Maybe if a stare at it long enough
it'll fix itself?
 
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Old May 23, 2005 | 01:22 PM
  #23  
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Whenever my autometer reads right...it's right around 195-200 degrees, it has a 192-195 degree thermostat so that's good. It's a brand new engine, and the temperature read correctly at first, about 40-50 miles later it started giving me trouble.

It worked just fine before I changed the motor in it. I know a pretty good ford mechanic so maybe he knows, I'll have to ask him.
 
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Old May 26, 2005 | 09:03 AM
  #24  
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From: covington wa.
Okay, well i gave it a few days to maybe correct itself and ill have
to correct it myselt. Its my water pump thats bad due to the
spewing out the hole on the bottom of pump, so ill change it and
all should be good. any ideas on a good waterpump? was thinking
id get just a remanufactured pump since soon i plan on a new motor.
 
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Old May 26, 2005 | 06:42 PM
  #25  
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Try cleaning your body ground, located just in front of the battery on the passenger side. I got right down to the bare metal when I cleaned mine last and it settled my guages down quite a bit.
My volt guage used to always read low normal now read high normal. Oil pressure in the upper half, and temp almost dead center after years of being in between n & o.
 
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Old May 26, 2005 | 10:47 PM
  #26  
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Mine is all brand new with the new motor...
 
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Old May 27, 2005 | 09:56 PM
  #27  
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Mine flutuates on highway between N and R after warmup. I have mechanical temp (and mechanical oil pressure) guages ordered. I understand the temp. probe goes in near the thermostat?
 
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Old May 27, 2005 | 11:36 PM
  #28  
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No, thats the ECT (engine coolant temp) sensor, don't unhook that one. The stock gauge picks up its reading from a sending unit ontop of the lower intake. When looking at the front of the engine, it's to the right of the distributor, near the #5 injector.
 
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Old May 27, 2005 | 11:51 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by Popa Tim
Try cleaning your body ground, located just in front of the battery on the passenger side. I got right down to the bare metal when I cleaned mine last and it settled my guages down quite a bit.
My volt guage used to always read low normal now read high normal. Oil pressure in the upper half, and temp almost dead center after years of being in between n & o.
This sounds like the "fix" to try
 
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Old May 28, 2005 | 09:32 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by Spaznaut
BTW, where a good location on these 90's p/u to mount an aftermarket oil and water gauge?
My "plan A" when they arrive is mounting below and to the left of the ash tray. I'm also going to spend more on a stainless steel braided hose for oil pressure than I did for the AutoMeter guages. I love my Bronco so much I hope to keep it forever and am afraid the nylon tube will not last forever.
 
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