ARX = 218,000 miles, 85MPH and 37MPG - debunk this

[Drew99GT]

Regarding the temp, 80 mph up a grade in 90 degree weather with a 200,000 + mile old A/C condensor plastered with bugs ans fins smacked shut with rocks etc.........it's nothing to worry about! If it got close to red, then I'd worry. You may want to take the electric fans off and the bumper/cover, and see if you can either blow the crud out of the condensor with the exhaust on a shop vac or water, and then try and open up as many closed off fins as possible with a tiny flathead screwdriver. It's tedious as heck, so a 6-pack may aid the process.

I did this on my 94 Corolla and my mom's Olds 88; temps stay lower and A/C performance increased! You wouldn't believe the pile of dead bugs and pebbles sitting on the garage floor afterwards.

 

[Chris142]

Quote:

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About the temp gage.. is it normal for it to rise when pulling steep hills?

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Mountain Pass coming out of Nevada is not a steep hill. Your going straight up a mountain! I'd say that most normal cars get dragged down to 70mph or slower going up it and many overheat.

The 500hp Peterbilt I used to drive would struggle to do 20 mph up that monster.

 

[Mokanic]

If the temp gauge went no higher than that you should be fine. The radiators in those cars have to be clean inside to operate correctly. Only a small amount of scale inside will show itself on a hard pull. Fortunately, those radiators are cheap to buy and easy to install.

 

[wander2039]

With my Mazda engines they always got better MPG with dino. Can't remember what series the 2.0L is in but the "B" series would easily go 500k with your OCI's.