Possible cooling issue

FWIW, my ECT and mech gauge read within 2*F of each other.

Does the fan stay ramped up at 100% DC at all times, or does it cycle slow and fast?

If you have an IR thermometer, you can use it to check the inlet vs outlet radiator temps. The absolute temp isn't real useful but the delta is.

I had sort of the same issue your having, my problem was fixed once i ditched the DCC controler and ran a 75 amp fuse with a switch, now it cools great. took me 2 years to ditch the DCC, i use a 95 5.0 fan with a 2 core alum radiator. so your taurus fan should be able to cool that no problem. it wont hurt to try

running hot

(Today I tried backing the timing down a bit... still ran hot....)

what is your base timing set at? is it possible that it is too "retarded"?. Retarded timing can cause it to run hot. I had the same problem in my 91 notch & came to find out that my timing marker was bent off several degrees during the motor install causing me to set my base timing wrong.I ended up setting it grandpas old fashion way by advancing the timing 4 degrees at a time(test driving it in between) until it started pinging, then bringing it back 2 degrees at a time until it quit.& bingo problem solved. might sound crazy but just my2cents :SNSign: Good luck

FWIW, the Autometer gauge I put in my '89 was consistently not reading ANYTHING at all and then suddenly jumping up to normal operating temp ... and then later, after a few minutes of driving, it would drop off again. I know mechanical aftermarket gauges are supposed to be more accurate and all that, but this wacky behavior wound up forcing me to go back to using the stupid vague stock gauge and sender because I got sick of not knowing AT ALL what temperature I was really running.

Oddly enough, I poked in an Equus temp gauge as well and, after awhile, I got the same results. No kinks in the lines, no sticky thermostat, none of that ... just weird readings that were either WAY too low (or nothing at all), and then shooting up to normal temp, and then fading back down to nothing again, off and on, all the time. Maybe my car's just possessed, I dunno.

But anyway, just throwing it out there that aftermarket gauges can be just as weird as the stock one. If you've got a stock sending unit laying around, maybe try poking that back in there (or get a new one, the sending unit is cheap enough) and seeing if it shows anything suspicious on the stock gauge - if it starts creeping up about 3/4 of the way or so even on the stock gauge, then yeah, you're probably running a bit hot.

Dave, did you have the aftermarket gauge's sender mounted in the t-stat housing? That can cause some strange readings because the stat opening and closing can affect the flow of coolant over the bulb.

For the OP, as someone above noted, I would run the fan hotwired (fused) to the battery just for comparison's sake. Just drive around the block a few times or whatever, and let it sit and compare how hot it gets vs now.

Jaym14,

The taurus fan has three wires. One for ground, one for low speed, and one for high speed. Is the fan wired for high speed?

yeah my buddy said he has seen many autometer gauges reading wrong. I thought this was my problem as well , but my meeter and my FAST (EMS) read about 5 degres appart.

Yes for some reason my DCC controler did not send enough current to the fan, it was probably my fault, so I dont want to say the DCC didnt work b/c it did and there are many people that are happy with them. BUt with my heat soaked bastard engine just having it directly wired up to the high output of the fan it works like a charm. I even tried a pusher fan, water wetter you name it. I also dumped out some of my coolant because i could not remeber if i used 50/50 mix or straight coolant. I put a gallon of distilled water in and it also helped the temps drop alot faster than they were. it took me about 2 years to figure all this out. I also choked the bypass on the water pump down a bit so it would force more water into the radaitor.