2.3L ('83-'97) 92 2.3 having some problems.

[scotts90ranger]

do NOT stress about the temp gauge position on a 2.3L, I've been around here a long time and this is the most common question other than people complaining about low power (they're fairly gutless, but dead reliable so I like em...)... my '90 has had at least 3 gauge senders and several thermostats, the heater blows super hot but the gauge is never really ever above the N, if it stands straight up there's a problem (like piercing the radiator with the fan clutch, that has been a recurring problem... fixed it with a traction bar). On my '97 being OBD II it's easier to get an actual temperature to relate to the temp gauge, the heater used to be really cold under 50 degrees before I flushed the heater core but even on 100F days it never gets over 180F coolant temp and that's somewhere around the middle of the gauge...

 

[ireallydontcare]

do NOT stress about the temp gauge position on a 2.3L, I've been around here a long time and this is the most common question other than people complaining about low power (they're fairly gutless, but dead reliable so I like em...)... my '90 has had at least 3 gauge senders and several thermostats, the heater blows super hot but the gauge is never really ever above the N, if it stands straight up there's a problem (like piercing the radiator with the fan clutch, that has been a recurring problem... fixed it with a traction bar). On my '97 being OBD II it's easier to get an actual temperature to relate to the temp gauge, the heater used to be really cold under 50 degrees before I flushed the heater core but even on 100F days it never gets over 180F coolant temp and that's somewhere around the middle of the gauge...

When I have my cardboard in front of the rad, it sits about where you describe. Without it, it only ever reaches the line before normal. And the heat isn't very warm either, without the cardboard.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yeah, when it's below 30 my '97 is similar, as most say the Lima's don't take much to cool...

 

[franklin2]

Here we go again. Big discussion about the factory gauges and what they are trying to tell you. I hate the gauges on any Ford I have owned. On a vehicle I care about I put real aftermarket gauges on it that have real numbers on them.

 

[ireallydontcare]

I've got a temp gauge somewhere I'm gonna put on for a while to see where it's really at. I bought it a new water pump because the old one is super rusty, so when I put that on I'll flush it out real well.