My '94 Loyale's temp gauge used to sit nicely just above the "C", but has been sneaking up lately. It is full of coolant, before you ask.

 

Any ideas other than HG?

maybe its just that its getting warmer.

 

Make sure that your fan comes on, and it wouldn't hurt to pull your T-stat and make sure its opening and closing, or just get a new OEM one and put it in.

Thermostat

Then flush the radiator

what was said.

thermostat.

make sure fan(s) are coming on.

flush radiator.

water pump.

 

all of these are more likely than head gaskets unless it's been overheated in the past.

Might be something, but my EA82 fluctuates between just above the C and 1/3 up on a regular basis. It used to drive me crazy, now I try to ignore it. If it spikes into the red, then you've got problems.

 

Try loading the engine and see if it climbs. I had a clogged radiator once and running the a/c on the highway with a full load on the roof rack would send it up in a hurry.

 

Check your clamps for leaks, if the pressure drops a bit you might see a little temp rise..

All good thoughts... some more background:

 

T-Stat replaced and rad flushed 6K ago. Tried a higher temp (non-OEM) one and it promptly overheated (trapped air or something). Wen't back to the other one and it worked fine. It's not OEM though... now that I know more about that maybe it's time to get a real one. Cheapest supplier?

 

I'll check the fans, but I doubt that's it as I have an open-road commute. The 60 MPH wind would overpower the fan anyway.

 

I'll take a look and report back! Maybe I'll just pull the T-stat entirely and see if that helps.

How hot is hot? If it's in the middle of the normal range, I wouldn't worry about it.

Maybe I'll just pull the T-stat entirely and see if that helps.

 

 

BAD IDEA

 

For 2 reasons, your engine will never heat up, so you will get fuel puddeling and horrid mileage, and also the T-stat acts as a restriction, giving the coolant enough time to pick up heat, so without it you will be running cooler, but you'll have hot spots.

best place to get a thermostat is the dealer

years ago my temp gauge slowly started to climb and it turned out to be a worn out clutch fan. Just a thought...

best place to get a thermostat is the dealer

i completely agree i have had aftermarket thermostats die on me more than once within a month of installing them

if all that fails the actual guage can be faulty. I've seen it happen recently

All good thoughts. I can hopefully dig into it this weekend. I'll pull the stat for diagnosis only... if it fixes it I will get a new one in there ASAP.

 

Thanks for all the ideas!

Well, I went to dig into the issue and pulled the rad cap... DRY! It took about 3/4 of a gallon to fill 'er up. I'm thinking rad cap... can anyone verify/deny?