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fluctuating temperature

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Old May 17, 2005 | 12:39 PM
  #1  
i1dery's Avatar
i1dery
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From: covington wa.
Question fluctuating temperature

My temperature gauge is going up to the r in normal than back down to the n. This just recently started in the past couple weeks. Does this mean maybe my thermostat is soon
to go?
 
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Old May 17, 2005 | 04:11 PM
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From: duncan oklahoma
i have the same problem.if you can get someone with a scanner that can show temp,watch it and see if it fallows the gauge,if it doesnt it will more than likely be the gauge itself. i think that ford had a updated gauge assy.i have replaced the sender t- stat ,iator and waterpump and mine still does the same.
 
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Old May 17, 2005 | 06:17 PM
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From: West Mansfield, Ohio
Yea never trust Ford gauges. My gauge was buried past red.... even with a replaced water pump, thermostat, rad and hoses. Decided to smack the top of my dash while goin down the road and it dropped into the normal range and hasnt done it since. Now according to a temp shooter it only gets up to 160 on a 80 degree day. Might wanna replace the thermo again....
 
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Old May 17, 2005 | 07:31 PM
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From: Central NY
It could also be a ground going flakey. This would be a good time to go thru them all while the weathers nice.
Cheers,
Popa Tim
 
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Old May 18, 2005 | 08:53 AM
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Well here alittle more info on this. As im driving highway speeds
it slowly goes up,then after a couple minutes it goes down for a
couple minutes then back up.In town at aound 35-40mph it does
the same but tends to take alittle longer between up and down
cycles.Now i've check fluid levels and all are normal. Also with it
coming up on summer could i run without a thermostat?
 
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Old May 18, 2005 | 09:36 AM
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Mine is doing the same thing, and I just rebuilt/refilled the water system...my only guess is air in the system.
 
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Old May 18, 2005 | 09:43 AM
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Generally not a good idea to run without a thermostat. Coolant flow is to fast for good heat transfer and the engine will run much better and cleaner if over 180 degrees.
 
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Old May 18, 2005 | 10:13 AM
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Could this also be a sign of a water pump going out? or maybe
the clutch fan mechanism not engaging properly?
 
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Old May 18, 2005 | 01:39 PM
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I duno, I got a brand new edelbrock water pump on mine and the fan/clutch assembly seems to work right...
 
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Old May 18, 2005 | 02:23 PM
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I'm telling you.... those gauges are always wrong. My truck runs at a steady 160 degrees and the gauge will go from the normal line all the way up to L and back down... but the degrees never change.
 
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Old May 18, 2005 | 02:30 PM
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I've got an autometer gauge and a stock gauge...suffering from the same problem as this guy...

The stock gauge doesn't really get into the normal range (it's much less reactive to the temp fluctuations and I think it just hangs in the middle).

The autometer gauge is completely reactive to changes in temp, and you'll see it fluctuate. I think it's from air pockets...
 
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Old May 18, 2005 | 02:55 PM
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From: covington wa.
One more thing. How exactly can you tell if the clutch is'nt
working properly on your fan? And i will check with the local
shop on the temp gauge, sure would'nt want to overheat in
the mountains with as high and far out i usually go.
 
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Old May 22, 2005 | 09:44 AM
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I've got to figure out how to fix this too...i can't get my gauges to read well.
 
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Old May 22, 2005 | 01:16 PM
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Don't worry about your oil pressure gauge. All it is is an on/off switch. Where exactly it is located in the normal range is a pure guess. If it's above 7 PSI the gauge will read somewhere in the normal range. If its below 7 the gauge will drop all the way down to the red zone.
 
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Old May 22, 2005 | 05:15 PM
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We're talkin' water temp not oil pressure....
 
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