It'll go up about 3/4 and stay for a little while and go back to normal.whats wrong with it.I take to ford and they say they can't find anything wrong.It has a new H2O pump and thermostat.Its warrantied.Should I hope for it to blow up or keep trieg to figure out the problem?

Ok, there is one or 2 possibilities here that I can think of. I will assume that your thermostat and water pump are functioning correctly although you can occastionaly have even new parts that are defective. I know this is dumb, but make sure your coolant is at the proper level. (sorry but had to make sure) Most likely your problem is in the radiator area. I would take a hose and blast some water through to get it good and clean. Gunk builds up over time and can block airflow enough to overheat your engine. Next thing is to make sure your cooling fans are working correctly. First turn on the A/C to make sure that both fans come on to their low speed. Now turn off the a/c and wait for the engine to completely warm up and when you hear the fans come to their low speed to cool the engine, turn the a/c on high and rev the engine to a higher rpm. In a minute or so you shoudl hear the 2 fans kick into the high speed. If they don't, this could be your problem. If they do, then my only other guess is that there is a blockage in your system and you need to have it flushed. Let me know what you find after this trial and error and we can go from there. Good luck and hope this helps.

It's probably going to 3/4 and then the fan is kicking on. Doesn't sound like there is anything wrong. As long it is not getting into the red zone. Your gage may just read higher than most.

If it was a Zetec that is about normal operation but its not sorry I couldn't help you... Good luck...

Originally posted by spgoode:

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It's probably going to 3/4 and then the fan is kicking on. Doesn't sound like there is anything wrong. As long it is not getting into the red zone. Your gage may just read higher than most.

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Yep. The dash indicator varies greatly from car to car. I wouldn't sweat it unless the gauge goes into the red. In the current heat (90+ and humid), I hit A and L on the highway sometimes, specifically when I am in traffic and running the AC. No biggie.

If you are really worried, have someone hook up an OBD-II scanner and monitor the ECT value - that comes from a much more accurate sensor. I've done that and know that O is 180 degF and L is 210 degF on my car. 210 is hot, but not extreme or dangerous especialy in this weather. Now if it was doing that in the winter, I'd be more concerned.

It wouldn't hurt to make sure the radiator is clear of any debris that would restrict airflow through it.

I don't know about any of you, but I prefer not to have my temp gauge running at the edge of the "normal" or safe range on a regular basis. Although it won't ruin your engine it can contribute to wearing out the engine faster. My Opinion (yeah I know everybody's got one) is that your gauge (if working correctly) should never pass the halfway or 'R' in normal IF your cooling system if functioning correctly. In my car I don't even have the word NORMAL, I just have a bracket and it moves about 1/3 the way up and stays there always. I have a 99 so I guess they changed it by then. An exception to the above is extreme driving at stop and go or low speeds. Your temp gauge should never move up at continuous highways speeds as this is when the radiator gets the most airflow. If that happens I would check the cooling system. One thing I can think of is that the cooling fans are waiting to come on until higher temperatures. We have a 96 Mustang Cobra Convertible and when not moving the temp gauge gets up to the M or sometimes the A in NORMAL before the darn fan kicks in. Even though we had the radiator replaced on a recall for overheating sometimes it will still run on the hot side. One day it was about 95 degrees out and even after driving 60 mph for 30 minutes (without stepping on the gas much) the temp gauge wouldn't go down past the M in NORMAL. I think that car just doesn't have adequate cooling. But I digress. Usually if the cooling system is in pretty much perfect health (are rare condition) most cars will run at the N in NORMAL except on hot days or in stop and go traffic. If I had the NORMAL on my gauge I would probably freak out if I passed the O, but thats just worry wart me. I guess I have said too much but when your bored, you might as well say what you have to say. Any other input here or opinions I would be delighted to read.

thanks for all the advice.