Hi All
I just got an 88 Fiero GT T top with 52000 Miles...I bought it in the winter and it seemed to run OK but was in need of a tune up. So I bought it and straight to the paint shop it went.
There was a few dull spots on the top so I wanted it fixed before Spring so I could do the tune up, etc once I got it home.
Well I am unsure about the temp sender going to the gauge. I replaced it because when I had the car idling for a while (1/2 hour-50 degrees outside)the red light was flickering when the temp gauge was only reading about half on the gauge. The car did not seem "hot" as I didn't smell any coolant, hear bubbling, etc. but I shut it down and let it cool for a while just to be sure.
Well I replaced the gauge sensor and now it is almost going into the red while idling only after 10 minutes! I used just a little "loctite 592" thread sealant (on the last couple outer threads) only on the sensor (after I installed once with thread tape then read on here not to do that).
I really don't think it could be really that hot unless I suddenly lost my water pump or something. Now I checked the temp at some different spots with an infrared thermometer and at the base of the temp gauge sender I am getting 180 F and at the rad cap about 130 f and about 150 f at the hose going into the thermostat housing.
all the while the temp gauge itself was reading near the red.
I am still leary of letting it run so I kept shutting it down just in case.
So my questions are
1. shouldn't the idiot light come on as well if the gauge is reading this high? I know it works because like I said earlier it was flickering a couple weeks ago and it lights up when turning the key on.
2. Shouldn't the fan be kicking on as well if the coolant temp was really this high inside the engine? I know that sensor works as well because the fan was kicking on a couple weeks ago as well.
3. shouldn't the infrared sensor be reading higher if the coolant was really this high on the other side of that sending unit?
4. Could I have gotten air into the system changing the temp sensor (twice) and the thermostat? I did have a hell of a time getting the temp sensor screwed back in for some reason...I couldn't get the right angle!
The coolant tubes going the length of the car were still cold as well as the coolant in the rad and the overflow bottle. The thermostat is new (180) and the hose was hot (150) going into the thermostat housing. The hose above the thermostat being hot made me think that maybe the waterpump is not pumping enough coolant in and there was actually hot coolant making its way backwards into the hose? Is this possibe?
I should also mention the car is really running like crap (very rich and hard to give it throttle) when it warms up and I am assuming it is the CTS sensor (already ordered one) because I checked codes and I am getting a code 15. Unless it is really the engine that is this hot but I figured it would just shut down? Or at least the fan would kick on trying to get the coolant temp down.
No white smoke and no milky oil. coolant looks good and green.
Any help would be greatly appreciated ....Thanks
[This message has been edited by bk2futr (edited 04-10-2013).]
