What does your temp gauge read while driving? Engine running hotter than normal?

The weather has been hotter than normal in Virginia, but shouldn't the engine run about at the same temp regardless of whether it's 70 degrees or 90 degrees? What does your temp gauge read while crusing on the highway and in stop and go city traffic? On the highway (in 70-90 degree whether) at 65mph mine reads approx. 185 degrees; while in stop and go traffic it creeps over to approx. 205 degrees. Last night after the car cooled down I checked the coolant level and it hasn't lost a drop since last summer when the coolant system was flushed and refilled. The coolant level is at the "MIN" level. (Also, apparently the shop filled it with the green coolant rather than the pink coolant...) I'm thinking maybe I should either drain and refill the coolant (with a stronger ratio of coolant to water) or replace the thermostat. Can anyone tell me where the thermoostat is located, what it looks like, cost and how hard is it to replace? Thanks, Mark

180's steady highway speeds, gentle city driving 190? stop-go traffic

install a center GT3 radiator, that will drop your temperature(6 speed only)Carnewal.com

One person on another board had the same problem. It was a very simple solution. He looked in the grills at the radiators and found that they were obstructed by debris. After he cleaned off the radiators, his gauge dropped back down to normal.

DaveMo is right, when I installed my third radiator you would not believe how much crap had accumulated in the radiator ducts. The third radiator is a good upgrade for hot weather driving, it definitely helps.

Ignore ALL of the above.... You just perfectly described the symtoms I encountered coming across AR last July. 100F+ outside, traveling at a good clip everything in the "green", slow, creeping, in construction zones and the temp would start to climb. Drove on home to Seattle by avoiding the A/C REHEAT airflow path. A/C on max cool and used the blower speed to regulate cabin comfort. Dramatic increase in A/C efficiency, decreased heat load on the engine cooling radiators just enough. Right front electric fan had failed.

I agree. If it's not a failed fan. it's probably debris , restricting air flow.

wwest, Where in the front is the fan (other than the obvious "it's in the front")? Thanks, Mark

There's two, both dual speed. If you turn the front wheels hard left then you can just barely see the right front (looking forward) fan looking forward into the front of the wheel well, directly behind the radiator. Hard right to examine the left front fan.

Temp is dead center or slightly to left or right depending on driving conditions. However the oil pressure gauge seems to flutuate like a roller coaster in my car. Is this normal?!?!?

The oil pressure guage will fluctuate as you accelerate. At idle, mine is around 2 and while driving at a constant speed, it's around 4+

I'll check out the fans tonight to ensure they are both operating. Thanks guys, Mark

When I do DE events, the temp meter goes close to 200. On the cool down lap, with a engine at around 3500 RPM, the temp comes down to a little above 180. During the cooler times of the year, I put the temp and fan speed at maximum during DE, and I think it allows the temp to run just a tad cooler; probably equivalent to a 1/2 radiator at best. Can't do it during city driving though.

Yeap... same here.

Freeway, 180ish... highspeed, 185... stop and go 180ish on warm days with the AC on.

Juan is mostly right.... You have to look up from UNDER the area in front of the front wheels to see the fans. And they do not run unless the engine cooling water jacket is at or near the high end. To test that both go to high speed I would drive the car around a bit to get it up to operating temperature and then check the fans after a few minutes stopped with the A/C on max cooling, blower at full speed, and windows lowered. Or you could use cardboard cutouts to block the airflow into the radiator openings.

Last night I carefully vacuumed out the leaves and debris from my air intakes and I topped off the coolant with antifreeze I purchased at the dealership so hopefully I'll see a difference with my temp gauge while driving. Also, I did check and confirm that both the cooling fans (located behind each radiator) are working. The cooling fans are the neatest thing I've noticed so far on this car. (They pump out TONS of hot air onto the ground right in front of the front wheels.) Very, very cool. I'll drive the car a couple days and provide feedback to anyone who is interested. Mark