Like the title says, I put the sport cluster in my 95 2.5, and when I first put it in, I stayed at 200-210. Then I did my valve cover, and then all of a sudden my gauge won’t get past 150.

Now, I know there’s a code for a stuck open thermostat, and I don’t have it, which makes me think that my sender isn’t reading the temperature right.

I haven’t noticed a drop in gas mileage, if anything i’ve been getting 16-18 compared to the 14 I was getting. But at the same time, the engine doesn’t feel as “hot” as it normally feels.

Now, a thermostat is really cheap, and I’m in need of a coolant flush because of the astronomical amount of rust there is, and I need a new WP gasket and some other hoses that I want to replace at the same time.

I should just do it, but I’m kind of hesitant because something doesn’t seem right. I’ve double checked that the sender is connected and working, and the gauge moves when it’s warming up, but after that, it seems to stop after 150. It’ll move higher when i’m idling, but when driving it doesn’t get more than a quarter of a way.

Am I overthinking this?

 

In a 95 the sender for the gauge comes from the back of the head...it only feeds the gauge. The sender in the t-stat housing feeds the computer and thus the message driver. I was not aware there was a low coolant temp code but no matter. Dead short low, yes but not midrange. You might not set a code because the front sender sees a hotter temp than the back because the back is bad, or the other way . When you think you should be up to operating temps grab the main hose off the housing 150 should be do-able 210 will hurt. Or get one of those temp guns

 

Now that you say that, I grabbed the upper rad hose yesterday and it wasn’t even solid, and I could hold my hand on top of the rocker cover.

If i’m gonna replace the t-stat, i’ll do it when I do my timing chain. Gonna do the water pump and some other things while i’m in there, and I don’t wanna waste coolant if i’m gonna drain it out again.

And I need to flush it too. There’s a lot of rust, so hopefully it’s not past the point of no return