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My '59 (283) temp gauge now shows 140 deg. while in Houston weather, now in the low 90's. Use to run straight up at 180 deg. in cooler weather. Now at the first tick mark, presume 140 deg.
Thermostat stuck open (160 deg. thermostat 2 years old)??? Have direct drive fan clutch and insulation around the radiator.
How harmful???
Thanks for any feedback.
Bob
First thing I would do is shoot the thermostat housing with an IR gun to confirm what your gauge says. Did this just start happening or has it been going on for a while?
I wish mine would do that with the start of our hot weather! Mine's spending its usual summer in the garage with the occasional trip around the neighborhood because it's just too dang HOT around here until October.
On our Route 66 trip, we ran into the first hot weather in Seligman, Az and Needles, Ca. Now, it was only 91 degrees, probably cool by where you live, so we threw the air on in town and watched the temp gauge go to 210, hot but within operating range (my gauge reads right). Once we were rolling, she gradually cooled down to just to the right of center, 'bout 185. The interior was comfortably cool.
Here's a shot of the gauge just after we got going on the highway, about 55 mph.
You can get an idea if the thermo ois working by looking at the gauge. If the needle goes up rather quickly, and STAYS at the same temp, it shows where the thermo opens and its controlling the water temp properly.
If it takes a while to rise, and goes up and down , then prob its stuck open. Also feel the top hose when cold..see if it gradually warms or abruptly gets hot
My Harbour Freight IR gun came in (ordered) and fired the '59 up. Let the '59 idle for about 15 minutes with temp at housing moving up to 165 deg.F (160 deg.thermostat). Gauge read 120 deg.
Drove for about half-hour, gauge stayed at 140.
Who sells the correct sending unit??
BTW, thermostat housing read 182 deg. F after drive.
Last edited by 65Bob-bo; Jun 22, 2013 at 01:20 PM.
Let the '59 idle for about 15 minutes with temp at housing moving up to 165 deg.F (160 deg.thermostat). Gauge read 120 deg.
Drove for about half-hour, gauge stayed at 140. Who sells the correct sending unit??
Lots of places claim to sell the correct sending unit, but the reality is that nobody does - some are close, some are not. The Wells TU-5, the BWD WT-203, and the Standard ST-6 appear to be fairly close most of the time, but they need to be I.R. gun checked after installation so you know what the actual variation is.
John Z:
The BWD WT-203 (OReilly's had one) works like a top. Gauge reads 180 deg.F and IR gun reads 177.5 deg. F. Close enough. Thanks for the great advice.
BTW, temp inside the fridge is 39 deg.F.
Bob
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