does this temp gauge reading look on, or hot?

[rjd2]

Hey all, up until this season, my '76 2002 seemed to run fairly cool(gauge reading a bit below 3 o'clock, or on the cool side of midway), and I could rev as high as i want and it would be very stable. However, this year, I've been having some "hot run" moments.  The tank looked a bit low about a month ago, so I added some coolant, and the car immediately ran hot; pushed up towards the red line. not into it, but on its way there. let the engine cool down, and check the radiator, make sure the cap is secure, and had some normal drives. today, my water temp came up to here pretty quickly. does this look normal, or concerning? thanks.

[Hans]

Is fan belt tight? How old is water pump? Thermostat? Any signs of leaks? Has the rad ever been flushed? It might creep up on a hot day, with a long pull up a hill on the highway. Mine stays steady just below 3 oclock. have you adjusted timing recently?

[tech71]

Have you installed a secondary ground on your temp gauge yet?

if not recommend you do.

Also make sure you have a good, solid adequate ground between engine and chassis .

 

Edited June 17, 2023 by tech71

[Conserv]

A temperature gauge needle at “2:30” is entirely within the normal range for at least 90% of all ‘02’s, and actually quite good for 50% of all ‘02’s. If the needle goes into the red zone regularly, or for extended periods of time, you need to do something!

 

Until I installed a Walloth & Nesch high-capacity radiator, my ‘76 —  bought new — rarely ran as cool as your photo shows, through decades of radiator re-cores!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

 

[Conserv]

53 minutes ago, Hans said:

…Mine stays steady just below 3 oclock…

 

Hans,

 

You’re in Canada! 😋

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

[BarneyT]

The real tell is change from what was, belt/pump first step… could be global warming…

[Mike Self]

My 73 has been running exactly where yours is for many years.   It has a 3 row core radiator, 80 degree thermostat, and an A/C condenser ahead of the radiator.  And my gauge was properly grounded many years ago.   I believe it would run more at 3 o'clock if I had a 76 degree 'stat.  My '69, on the other hand, with a two row core radiator and the small 4 blade fan as fitted to the early cars tends to run just below the horizontal (3:30-3:45) and has for many years.  Go figure.

 

You may recall that about 6 weeks ago I posted a question about too much distributor advance causing an engine to run hot, and folks agreed that it could well be a factor.  My car suddenly started running almost to the red on the highway, and judicious opening the heater control prevented overheating.  I didn't get around to adjusting the timing, because it hasn't done that again, even after prolonged highway running.  

 

I think my original near-overheating problem was a sticking thermostat, probably from the car sitting for several months during salt season.  I've had thermostats stick before, generally in the closed--or nearly so--position.  So that might be something to check, but your gauge--all things being equal--is perfectly normal.

 

cheers

mike

 

 

[Hans]

 

You think this might have something to do with it?

[DrinkMan]

That is where ours runs. Might get slightly higher after a long highway run and then sitting at intersection for a while on a hot Georgia day. Might get slightly lower on a cool day (under 80 degrees) and easy drive. Our gauge is grounded. 

Edited June 18, 2023 by DrinkMan
Defined cool day.

[Hans]

If the temp is getting up to the red zone, something is wrong.

[2002#3]

Looks about right for an '02 with and OK cooling system.

To emphasize comments from tech71 above, (i) ground the gauge cluster and (ii) make sure there is a good, strong, and solid ground from block to chassis.

[Conserv]

And here’s what the Owner’s handbook has to say…

 

(The green highlighting is mine. One must read the entire highlighted paragraph to be well-informed. 😉)

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[tech71]

I have a 3 core HD radiator as well, what's odd is my gauge indicates engines running hotter (2:30) in winter.

Summer 90 degrees plus, it indicates 3:00

 

[Hans]

depends on what they mean by "longer". I'd be having a close look at things, starting with coolant level and fan belt. I can't ever recall seeing mine much  past 2 o'clock, even on a hot day in traffic. That said, My NK CS has a bit more space under the hood.

[Son of Marty]

9 minutes ago, tech71 said:

what's odd is my gauge indicates engines running hotter (2:30) in winter.

This used to happen with the Pinto rediator swap, what was happening there was the more open core of the radiator would pass enough air to in cold weather to cool the thermostat body so that it would think the coolant was still cool and the stat didn't open all the way, it's harmless and will give you heater a bit of a boost.