how hot is too hot?

[Mediaman67]

Hi,

93 Lumina, Euro, 95K

I was wondering if the temp gauge should be flucuating like it is? The car never over heats, but the gauge moves from about dead center (where I'd like to see it all the time) to as high as just before the last white line...

The way I understand the gauge, is that it is 40 degrees at every line... 100 is cold, 140 is the first line, 180 is the middle of the gauge, and 220 is the last white line, then red, and 260 degrees max?

I get about 200 degrees 80 percent of the time... I have a 195 degree Tstat in there, and like I said, it hovers around that, but it does change from time to time...

I just changed out the cooling system, drained refilled and changed the T-Stat... same deal... I opened the air vents (there are two) and blead the air out of the system.

is all of what I am describing normal?

Thanks,
Bob

[Schurkey]

Do your cooling fans work?

Mine (a 3.4) NEVER goes above the 1/2 way mark.

[Mediaman67]

yeah, the one is on at 220 like it should, and the other is always on when the AC is on... like it should...

Yeah, the car actually runs COOLER with the AC running... go figure...

On the Highway, it is normally 1/2 way, or just a wisker past that point... but sometimes in the city, or stop and go, the temp needle can reach up to 3/4 of the way... once it actually hit the red, but after it was reved, it dropped...

The coolant levels are all correct, in fact, when it's cold, it is actually at the fill HOT mark, but since it's a big overflow tank, there is still plenty of room in there, in case it did ever overflow...

The car has always been like this, even since it had 12K on it... just wondering if all 3.1L Euros run this way?

[RahX]

you do a lot of driving on it so it MIGHT not be the issue but those 3.1s can trap air like you wouldnt believe. what i usually do is this. warm the car up at an idle until it reaches operating temp then hold the throtttle at about 1200-1300 rpm. when it starts to get hot rev it up to about 2200-2400 and let off till it comes back down to 1500ish and rev it back up to 2200-2400 and repeat several times. you should be surging the engine like youre getting ready for a badass takeoff, in park . thats how it should sound anyway. what youre doing is working the cooling system to try and purge the air since the high spots are hard to work the air out of. after you do this warm it up as high as it will go without overheating and shut it down and walk away. let it cool down for 30-45 mins and check the overflow. fill it back up tot he hot line and do it again. hope this helps. i know when i do anythign to the cooling system on those bastids 9/10 i have to do this to get the air out even after i opened the bleeders and whatnot.