I just installed a rearend with 3:73's..It takes off like a rocket now! anyhow, my temp was reading 230* is that to hot or is it normal for a 79* day? I wasnt running the air and i never had the car above 4000rpm..any help will be highly appreciated! BTW..its a 88gt 5.0 5spd
5-10 degrees over your TSTAT. 180 Tstat should run 180-190. Maybe a little more in traffic with the A/C on. If it starts getting above 200 and staying there, something is wrong. ESP on a 79 degree day.
Should I get a new radiator or new temp gauge? the radiator is stock(150k miles) I'm running a electric temp gauge that I bought from parts america..maybe I will hook up the stock one and see if it gets hot..the car is not acting like its running hot maybe its reading the hot air coming off the manifold too?? I will try to figure it out tommorow..
just get a cooler running thermostat.. line instead of the stock 180 tstat get a 160-165 degree tstat, your car will run cooler all the time. the down side is a slight loss in gas mileage as you wont reach your closed loop control temp.
If the car is truly running that hot in those conditions, you need to tend to it before you overheat it. First step is to get a quality temp gauge (autometer, vdo, etc.) so you actually know what the temp is. General rules of thumb - if it overheats in traffic, but cools off as your speed increases - it's usually not moving enough air across the radiator (fan, shroud, etc.). If it overheats as you speed up, or 'use' the car hard, it's usually an issue of the radiator not having enough capacity to cool (old-clogged, mods require bigger radiator, etc.). If it overheats all the time, the t'stat may not be opening or it could be a radiator capacity issue.
Putting a cooler t'stat in is no cure for an overheating issue. It may buy you a bit of time, but it's not the answer to the problem. It merely treats the symptom, rather than treating the illness. You should have enough radiator capacity and fan capacity to keep the engine running at 1) the t'stat temp or 2) the fan temperature switch. If you've got a 180 tstat, and a fan that's supposed to be fully engaged (clutched mechanical) or on (electric) by 195 -- your temps shouldn't exceed that. In traffic when the fan is moving air, you shouldn't go above the fan temp. And once you start moving so that even more air is crossing the radiator, it should come down to the t'stat temp.
If your 88 has the stock/original radiator in it, it's likely already seen it's best days. I'd have that checked out first.