I put an aftermarket water temp gague on my truck... it goes to normal on the stock dash gague, but almost pegs the 250 Degree Autometer.

What is the normal operating temps of these trucks? It has no signs of over heating ethier.

 

I'm not to sure about other 460's and what not. But i know in my truck i have an aftermarket gauge as well and it goes to about 200* then drops right back down to about 185*. So i'm guessing the T-stat in mine is probably a 195*.

All the other cars i've ever owned (oldsmobiles, few chevys, etc etc) have always ran about the same right about 195-200 IF it has a 195 stat in it.

I'd make sure you have the right amount of coolant, maybe check for leaks.
Also..check to see if your fan is spining...depending what you have on your truck..i've seen the clutch style fans stop working and they just sit there...not helping it cool down.

Last two things it could be...is either a faulty water pump, or your T stat is stuck closed.

Good luck

Justin
New Baltimore, Mi

 

its got a new T stat in it... but i never thought of not enough coolant... i will go and check that... i did have it drained abotu a weekago to put new pushrods in it... Thanks!

 

Where is the sending unit loctaed on the engine for the autometer gage?

 

I teed off the stock one, so the stock one is just up a little higher and the autometer is off to the side about an inch...


But i did put some more coolant in it, and no go on running cooler... Guess i will be trying to see if the fan is coming on.

 

Just a thought here but most sending units sensing portion is inserted in a spot where constant fluid flow passes the sensing element for the sending unit.

Just a WAG, but you may have created a pocket where there is little flow running across the sensing element. Yet your stock gage still reads the same after installing the new gage?

Personally there may be another spot to put the Autometer sending unit. Considering I don't know exactly what type of sending unit they use I can't tell you a whole lot more of what could be going on.

Did you have to buy the gage and then buy a seperate sending unit? Or did the Sending unit come with the gage? What model gage and sending unit?

 

I took it out of my race car... its a cheap half sweep Ultra Light II water temp gauge... and where i have it put, Ill agree there would not be much coolant flow, and it would just be reading the "air" temp which of course is going to be higher... Maybe ill just put where the stock sending unit is suppost to go... Not like the stock gauge is useful anyway.

I also dont know if this is the correct sending unit now that i think about it... (i was playing in the snow with the truck tonight when i remember) but i have like 5 sending units and i know one is for a full sweep electrical temp gague... maybe i put the wrong one in, and then that would cause the high up reading too...

I will figure it out... I have put almost 400 miles on the truck the way it is... runs great! I love this thing!


Another thought would be a bad head gasket... but if im not mistaken, it would be drinking coolant like crazy and would have already overheated and spewed it everywhere... So thats not likely but i thought...

 

Easy way to find out what might be the right sending unit is to boil a pan of water and put the sending units in it an d hook up the gage to the sending units and see which ones read around 212 Degrees F. Cause that is the set temp for boiling water.

I say this because I am a calibration technichian and this is one method we use for testing some type of temperature equipment. Because a slush bath and boiling point of water are accurate constants.

 

wel... ghoing to work today... i see steam coming from the passenger side of the truck hood... open it up and there it is... the Radiator hose has a crack in it... now i get to play with that for now... got it home... and am going to try and buy the hose right now...

And i agree completely on your boiling point and freezing points... they will and always be a constant as long as teh enviroment closed or the same... I will try that tommorow if i get ambitous.

Thanks

 

Turns out i had a bad radiator... but the truck with out the leaking radiator still runs 240-250 degrees on my autometer... i think im just going to take out that gauge and use tehs tocekr...


n signs of over heating, so im just oging to keep driving it.

 

Go to Harbor Freight and buy and infared heat gun. They are cheap and tell you the true temp with just a point and pull the trigger.

The best way to go.
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Heres a cheap one like I keep in my truck.
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

Just a FYI to those that use and are thinking of using these types of thermometers. They are good for finding temperature variances, but are not as accurate as some would think. Especially when used incorrectly, take it from me I calibrate these types of equipment on a daily basis, and these are far from being as accurate as everone thinks.

They do serve a purpose and can still be very useful, you just need to know the limitations of the equipment. Like the distance to spot ratio. On the gun it's 8:1. So 8" from the target you'll have a spot area of 1". 16" and it incrases to a 2" spot etc. etc. And there is a focal lenth on the spot, usually the manual dipict this in a picture.

Also most of those guns are pre-set with a emissivity setting of 0.95, which is usally good for some metal unpolished metals, but the reading can be vastly altered when shooting and object that isn't close to the same emissivity.

Angle also plays a role in reading accuracy, and just what you are trying to read. Remember these are Non-Contact "Surface" infrared thermometers. and the temperature of say exhaust gases will differe from the actual header temp. As will teh radiator surface temp will differ from actual coolent temperature.

That and thermal Conduction, Convection, and Radiation are three pricipals of thermal dynamics that each work differently.

Now for better detailed explination you can find some info on Raytek's website.

 

I just stuff the muzzle of the thing against whatever I want to measure the temp of. Then there is no spread problem as the cone is way less than a 1/4" of an inch in diameter. I also calibrate the thing against the wife's high dollar candy thermometer, so I know how far it is off.

 

I think im just going to take the autometer gauge out... runs N-O on the stock gauge... ill just use that...

 

Well that isn't nessessarily the most accurate way to measure temp using the things as the diffuser lens isn't a 1/4 of an inch. That isn't how it is designed to work I have calibrated a wide array of manufactures Infrared thermometers from Fluke, to Raytek, to 3M, to Whal products. I used calibrated black bodies. Using them at too close a distance can give you erroniously higher readings than at the suggested distance, and vice versa using them at a further distance they can give you erroniously lower readings to far away from the target. As a larger spot will average the temperature of the whole spot.

Again I am not saying they are complete crap that to get good repeatable readings it is key to use them in properly and in a the proper evironment. cause ambient temperature of where they are being used can give bad readings like the cooler or hotter outside temperatures will skew the readings.

Also contaminents on the lenses can skew the readings. I have had units fail calibration, then clean the lens and have them read in tolerance due to contaminents.