1995 f150 5.8l 4x4

couple days ago my tempeture guage sky rocketed...i was in the bush so i just pulled out my thermostat figured it was stuck closed...

since then my guage has been acting wierd, it doesnt go below the r in normal range like even if the truck is off and hasn't ran all night...doesnt default to C and its not like its hot here we are below freezing right now...like I jump in the truck in the morning and the guage is right verticle in the middle of normal, turn the key and it stays there and as it runs gets hotter and hotter.

so it starts in the middle no matter what and just climbs from there to the verge of maxing out

couple times i've noticed it bounces to C like it should but then bounces back to the middle and just gains from there...acting very wierd

put in new thermostat today and still acting up...im not incredibly mechanically inclined..and havn't let it get too close to the red...scared to overheat as I just bought this truck and the motor has low miles...but anyways the new thermostat isn't opening (upper rad hose does not get hot, though at the thermostat housing it does) not sure if it's just because im not letting it heat all the way due to me being scared of the guage getting close to the red...thermostat did open when i boiled it in water.

Dan.

 

ill be the first to inform u, stock guages are nothing more than glorfied idiot lights. i would say, the sending unit is bad. its not hard to expensive to replace.

but in the case if it isnt, have u checked the coolant for oil and vice versa? do u have heat?

 

Mine is doing the same thing in my 94. Worked fine until I changed the timing cover gasket. Just got used to it. Most likely a bad sender. To check the gauge, disconnect the wire from the sender and temporarily jump it to ground then turn the key on. The gauge should do a "full sweep" to past hot. Unplugged, it should be on the cold setting.

 

yea faulty sender, thanks guy's works great now

Dan.

 

glad u got it fixed.. my opinon tho i would just put in a manual temp gauge like an oil pressure gauge so u know what your temp is reading while u are going down the road.. I know my oil gauge started acting to stupid.. So i just put in an manual oil perssure gauge an it works great..

 

just a question you say it is an idiot guage, which im assuming is if the vehicle is running proper it goes normal and if it is hot it just goes to the red

mine like if its idleing it goes in the slightly below middle of normal and start driving around town bout the same...hit the highway and it cools down which makes sence, cooler air heating the rad...which wouldn't be the same as an idiot light..or is my understanding just *** backwards

Dan.

 

sometimes those idiot lights or idiot gauges will not read like they are supposed too.. If u don't have a fan cover on the fan then it will run hot at idleing.. Now if u have a fan cover over the fan then it will not run hot unless u are having problems like the thermo. thing or low on water or whatever.. Most of the time those gauges will not just read what u want them too.. They will go bad at some point.. If u decide to go from the gauge on the desh to a manual gauge it isn't really that hard to do..

 

good advice and I see what you mean...what kind of replacement would you recommend and in dash replacement (take out the old one and put in an aftermarket) or an external mounted to the pillar or somesorts, any recommendations I could look at?

thanks Dan.