tempature guage.
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Freshman User
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 30
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tempature guage.
Like two weeks ago the heater hose that goes from the thermostat housing to throttle body broke. So I drained the coolant from the radiator and changed the hose and refilled the radiator with coolant. But ever since then the temp gauge doesn't stay high up where it used to be it used to be at the middle when I was just stop and go driving and highway driving but now when ever i go on the highway it drops down to the n in normal. Where in stop and go its up by m where it used to be all the time. Could it be a thermostat going bad and or the in proper coolant percent of water and antifreeze? Also if anyone can advice me on draining the coolant that would be great I found the petcock on the radiator but is there a plug on the block as well? Its a 94 302 bronco by the way.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 703
Likes: 1
From: Rochester
NY - The best way I know how to drain the rad is the petcock for a majority of the fluid. Once I see that the stream has slowed, I remove the lower rad hose and drain it that way. You will get fluid from the water pump and the rad at the same time, but at elast it will be empty.
The temp. gauge is nothing more than what most would say a "dummy light" which can be affected by any disruption in the electrical system. It truly does not measure the exact temp of your water. So to answer question, it is hard to tell whether or not your thermostat is going bad. Are you not getting heat inside the cab? Does it overheat?
The best thing to do is to install a mechanical water temp gauge instead to get a true temp reading. Sunpro, EQUUS and many others sell them. Do yourself a favor though and get the copper tubing to plumb it. Many of them may come with a nylon tube which tends to wearout and leak. This is a VERY easy project to handle for any garage mechanic. Just follow the directions from the package or give any of us a shout when you decide to go for it.
The temp. gauge is nothing more than what most would say a "dummy light" which can be affected by any disruption in the electrical system. It truly does not measure the exact temp of your water. So to answer question, it is hard to tell whether or not your thermostat is going bad. Are you not getting heat inside the cab? Does it overheat?
The best thing to do is to install a mechanical water temp gauge instead to get a true temp reading. Sunpro, EQUUS and many others sell them. Do yourself a favor though and get the copper tubing to plumb it. Many of them may come with a nylon tube which tends to wearout and leak. This is a VERY easy project to handle for any garage mechanic. Just follow the directions from the package or give any of us a shout when you decide to go for it.
