water temp(what should it be?)

[Marlboro_Man]

Well i picked up my first 87 gt today!!!

It has alot of aftermarket gauges and one of which is the temp gauge. It reads anyhwere from 180-210 , mostly 180-190ish but a couple times it hit like 210.

What should it range from? Also what temp is overheating?

I'll post pics this weekend of my new gt!

 

[90bronconate]

well the coolant i use says with a 50/50 mix, 265* is what it protects to. so it depends on what your mixture is. (you can get a tool to measure it really cheap at a parts store)

 

[Marlboro_Man]

well the coolant i use says with a 50/50 mix, 265* is what it protects to. so it depends on what your mixture is. (you can get a tool to measure it really cheap at a parts store)

Yeah i have one of those tools , i'll check the coolant tommorow.

But i was just wondering if the temp starts to get high , what is too high? That way i can shut it down and check it out. The car has an aftermarket alluminum radiator and is using two electric fans, one pushing and one pulling air.

 

[Anthony85stang]

id start worrying if it rose above 230

 

[HISSIN50]

I am with Anthony. The puter starts pulling timing at 226*. If it has iron heads, you have more room for heating up than with alum heads.

Personally I would not want to go over 220. But as a point of reference, the 94-94s (5.0) low speed fan does not even come on till 208 (high speed is in the high 220's).

Good luck and enjoy the new ride.

 

[00-Saleen]

My car Overheated at 250. 180-200 Is Normal

 

[Marlboro_Man]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[HISSIN50]

A notation for 00 Saleen's comments. 180-200 is normal if you have a 180 t-stat. STock is a a 195 stat, so shift those temps up accordingly (from a 180) if you have a stock rated stat.

 

[00-Saleen]

Well what Thermostat should i have in my car? Its Relatively stock But it has a Flowcooler Radiator, Aluminum Water pump, and a Black Magic Electric Fan kit....

 

[feifong]

180-200 normal but when u shut the car off it can go to 210. 220-250 worry

 

[HISSIN50]

Well what Thermostat should i have in my car? Its Relatively stock But it has a Flowcooler Radiator, Aluminum Water pump, and a Black Magic Electric Fan kit....

There is no one right answer. Do you drive the car in the winter and is winter cold where you are (I forgot to check your location)?
I (personally) dont recommend a given stat-rating as a blanket statement. Some guys run at 220 in traffic with a 160* stat, whereas someone else runs at 200* in traffic with a 195* stat. The entire system has to be evaluated and the stat (and/or component upgrading) is chosen accordingly.

It sounds like your cooling system is stout. If a 195 stat keeps you cool enough (205-210*F or under, etc) then stick with it. Otherwise, a 180 gives the system a little more time to reject heat. I will note that the higher -ated stat actually allows the cooling system to reject more heat than a 180 stat (the larger the temp delta, the more heat is rejected).

So just play it by ear. Most folks on here run either a 180 or 192/195/197 stat. 160s are frowned up and it sounds like you certainly would not want that.

I will recommend Mr Gasket t-stats if you decide to swap. They are balanced, open fully sooner and have a bleed hole. 10 bucks at speeds shops.

Good luck.

 

[00-Saleen]

Well i have the 180 in and it Never sees 180 In any conditions, whether it s cold or not. I drive the car every day. Im in seattle, Wa, and its always cold....

 

[HISSIN50]

00, something is not right. No matter how cold it is, the stat will need to open eventually (I grew up in Seattle, and it is quite mild compared to folks who live in the snow belt). The way the stat works is that it will simply stay closed longer if it is cold outside (I recall teens being about as cold as it got up there). But the motor still creates heat and once it does, the stat opens (even if ever-so-briefly).

It sounds like your stat might be stuck open.

Good luck.

 

[Marlboro_Man]

Well thanks for the replies guys, today i realized that one of the fans wasn't running because the ground wire had broke off.

It stayed at 180* for pretty much the rest of the day , then i got into some good old houston traffic and it jumped up to about 190-195* so i exited the freeway and shortly after it went back down.

 

[marvizu]

Since we are on the subject, My temp guage does not go over the 130 mark unless I run the A/C and I live in Las Vegas. When I run the A/C, the gauge will get up around the half way mark and start to smell hot. In the winter my guage doesn't even get to the 130 and the heater does not get warm. I know that stock guages are for crap but it sounds like I have other issues. What do you all think? Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack the thread.
Oh yeah, I replaced the radiator in July of last year.

 

[88_GT_5_oh]

this is the great thing about living in canada, this time of year it sticks at 180 all the time even in rush hour traffic. aftermarket gauge too. in the summer i only seen 200* once and that was cause of construction and +35C weather

in the winter we have a hard time getting some cars up to 180*

i have been told 180-210 is "normal"