I installed some guages over the winter and have been noticing how much higher my temp guage reads than the worthless one on the dash.

Anyway what is a normal operating temp in the hot weather?

I have been seeing 215-230 driving home in the afternoons in traffic lately.
Just looking to see if its normal since it has been heating up lately or if I am having issues.

Any input would be great.

 

Seems a little high. Hottest ive seen any ls motor run is 210. Almost sounds like you have a sticking tstat or a obstruction in the radiator do both the fans kick in?

 

yeah even after i thrash on mine in the dead heat of the day i never see above 210. EVER.

 

Appreciate the feedback. I checked the fans a couple days ago and they were running. I guess I will drain and flush the radiator and replace the t-stat while I am at it. Thanks again.

 

when was the last time you flushed it?

also when was the last time you had the water pump off?

mileage?

 

replace the t-stat with one of a lower temp, 180* or 160*, ive got a 160 and stuck in traffic at 3pm on 610 it never clears 190*. my tranny tends to run pretty hot though, 180ish

 

Pointless to change the stat to a 160 if you don't have the fans come on sooner. And running a lower stat isn't the answer to the problem. If it can't stay within optimum operating temp now then throwing a lower stat will fix it?



You might have a water pump going out or a bad stat.

 

180 is usualy the lowest you want to go on fuel injected motors, 160 may leave you in closed loop, and you will have terrible gas mileage and performance.

 

im not sure how accurate my guage is, im going off the factory 98 temp guage, but it hovers around 170ish in normal driving, never gets lower but it does get higher in hot conditions. the 160 was recommended by several shops including LMR, which is where i bought it. the car does run open loop too, just like normal.

 

lol is there an echo in this room?

 

Mileage is around 72k.

I have had the car three or four years now and never had it flushed or had the pump off. I ride the bike most of the time so the car only gets 6-7k miles a year tops.

Me and my buddy will get it figured out next weekend. Just needed to make sure the numbers were high as I suspected. Temp guage on the dash never went above 210...so glad i got the aftermarket guage on there.

Thanks,
Jim

 

Just replace the pump. It's what, 150 bucks? And get another stat that's OEM.