Overheating...revisited

[OrangeCrush1970]

WHOOO!!!! Well, that was a long chase, but I think I've got the overheating issue resolved. We did boil my thermostat, and it opened. Checked the water pump and it was doing it’s job so I pulled my radiator (Im running a 400 radiator on my 350) and took it to the shop to have it tested. Sure enough, there was some blockage so I had them core it out and rebuild it. Got it back in the truck and sure enough my temp gauge was still reading higher than usual (used to be about an 1/8 the way off the cold tick). I also noticed that the gauge would not fully set back at dead cold when I turned the key one notch (when truck was cold). I went and got a new temp sending unit…same story. Now we did all the regular checking / precautious stuff and the truck was running like no bodies business so I decided to drive it around for a while; it never overheated, the gauge never got above a little past half way, and so in my mind the gauge may have been fouled or warped by the overheating. My thoughts are that the original thermostat that I replaced 2 weeks ago w/ my belts and hoses may have been rated at 180 degrees, on top of that stuck OPEN because my truck always ran cool (which I know is not good in the wear department). I’m currently running a 195 degree thermostat…thoughts on the temp gauge? I have herd that they don’t go bad all that often.

[Ole Blue 68]

So how is the gauge reading now?

[OrangeCrush1970]

When i get in and start the truck it reads just over to the right of the cold mark which makes me think it's broken. After the truck warms up, it reads just to the right of the half way mark, but has not read any higher than that. I just picked up a couple of stock gauges from 72freak so Im going to see what they read compared to my gauge.

[Ole Blue 68]

Got it. Well from all that you've done, it sounds like you covered any other possibilities so i'd do the same thing you're gonna do and see what you get from another gauge.

I got similar problems but I suspect its my sending unit.

[OrangeCrush1970]

Im fairly positive that it's my gauge at this point. I know there was an overheating issue and think I nipped it w/ the radiator rebuild...just had a casulty in the way of a bad gauge. I think the only other thing would be a bad head gasket or even a cracked head...but i just don't see that right now. No water in the oil, etc. The fact that my gauge won't return to dead cold says to me that it's wiped out.

Let me know if you have any questions about anything...I just pretty much went through it all chasing this down!!!

Thanks,

Rob

[OrangeCrush1970]

Got it fixed. The gauge is all jacked up after the initial overheating. It just reads a few ticks off. Im throwing a new one in when I get my new bezel.

Thanks folks.