Vk v8 temp gauge. Anyo

[bfhoon]

just wondering my temp gauge moves around a bit on my Vk v8. Seems to idle fine and stay cool ie never goes past the end line get in and drive it even open road no traffic it goes to nearly half on the gauge. Stop t9 idle and it cools..... wondering if half on the gauge for a Vk is standard or worth being concerned about. Anyone know what degrees half is on the gauge most other Vk s I have owned never go past the 2nd line. Temps taken from front of torque power manifold right near thermostat housing. Thermostat replaced 9 months ago car driven rarely.coolant full doesn’t appear to loose water although sometimes it seems to leak out of the reservoir cap....

 

[Smitty]

.. original sender screwed in?

if not, get a new one (they are cheap) but beware
there are TWO different ones GMH used and
you will get strange results if you use the
wrong sender

 

[bfhoon]

Torque Power manifold not sure if its the original sender I dont think so but perhaps it is.... Do oyu know which one I should get.
I think the guage is accurate

 

[DerekP]

I have always found that the temp gauge reads half after I have done a full cooling system flush. I deduced rust and other gunk builds up on the temp sender unit (internally) and sends lower readings when the system is not clean, thus mid way is the correct position.

 

[bfhoon]

So half way on a vk factory temp guage is normal?
mine fluctuates from hafl way to the 2nd broken line. Its never gone more than half personally Ive never seen any 6 cylinder vk goes past then 2nd line.

 

[Lacksballs]

The only true way to check the actual engines coolant temperature is with an external thermocouple (or additional gauge), fit the thermocouple into a spare water jacket port (close to the original coolant sensor) & road test the vehicle. Taking note of the "real" temperature vrs the coolant/temp gauge reading on the dash. It only takes the wrong sender unit or a faulty gauge to misrepresent the "actual" temperature. The engine coolant temp should run close the the thermostat opening temps ie 88 or 92 Deg C & correspond to 1/2 way on the factory gauge (give or take +/-10%). My fluke meter has a temp input & a thermocouple you can do all sorts of temp readings.

Good luck

 

[DerekP]

Remember temp gauges on old cars move around a lot; load, A/C on/off, coasting down hills, hot day / cold day etc the needle will move from low to just past mid way, this is normal. Anything over just past mid way is considered too hot and should be checked. Modern cars sit in the middle all day long now matter what the outside temp is, load etc etc etc.

 

[bfhoon]

So you guys would drive around on half on the factory guage all day long no worries? Does anyone know what temp half is suppose to be. What are my options If I remove the thermostat will it be worse because the water will be flowing all the time etc etc. I would be more thinking if the car can idle on the 2nd line ie about 1/6 of the guage for 15 minutes when im driving and it goes to half shouldnt I be concrned it should really cool better when cruiing rather than sit at idle.

 

[bfhoon]

Got one of those InfaRed Heat Guns and tested temps today looks like my guage is accurate but it does fluctuate the temp which im assuming has to do with the thermostat opening up and closing wish it was more consistant. Highes temp I could get on the top radiator hose was 78 which is a midget under half n the factory guage so im banking on i wouldnt reach 100 degrees until im 3/4 or so? Intake manifold was around 73 degrees Oil in sump about 105 degrees I notice my front header and rears were a bit cooler and in particular cylinder number one header didnt seem to reach 100 degrees much lower than the rest what could cause this? Anyway I think I have put my worries to bed here in regards to the cooling system.

 

[DerekP]

**Just picked up this thread again** Half way is normal on VB - VK's (I seem to be repeating myself...). It is an old car and temp gauges move around a fair unlike modern cars. You do not want the engine too cold you will wear it out much quicker. Cold number one cylinder could be really low compression.