time to reach normal temp...(??)

[97tbird]

Engine is 1997 4.6L with 88,000 miles.

is my motor running too cold?
I began to notice this last week:

After 30 min. of driving under following conditions, the max level my temp gage would read is just BELOW the mid-mark(50% of range): (it takes about 10 min. to GET there)
-Outside temp: 55 deg F
-driving speed: 65-70 mph
-driving time: 30 minutes.

even after 30 minutes of driving at the above speed, the needle hangs just BELOW the middle of the range...isn't that a little too low? if I let the car idle after 30-40 min. of driving, then it gets to the exact middle, but as soon as I start driving again, it drops to a pointjust below the mid-mark, and never moves.

isn't this a little too long for the motor to get warm? and for the max. temp it shows, isn't that a little too low?
Where should the needle be at "operating temp"?

(Once I was sitting in stop/go traffic in 90 deg F weather in summer, and the highest level the temp gage would show was just above the mid-mark.)
As far as I know, the thermostat has never been replaced...

Any opinions/advice?
Thanks in advance.

 

[sprintman]

I have a 194F thermostat, the hottest I could find and I have to block off half the radiator to get my Mazda up to temp during colder months. It only happened after the radiator top tank was replaced but I fail to see why this is so. Sounds like you have a similar problem. Why not replace your thermostat with a slightly hotter one as it may be crook?

 

[greencrew]

Thy this before you start the engine.

Push and hold the trip/odometer button. Turn the ignition key on. Keep holding the button until the odometer reads 'test'. Let go of the button and start the engine. Push the button 13 times until it reads 'degC'.

If it works, it will show you the temp of the coolant at the head. When the engine is warm it should settle down at about 90C. As you drive it will slowly climb to about 93, then suddenly drop back to 90.

Do the same tests you described, and report back the results.

 

[MNgopher]

The only thing I would add to greencrews observation is that if it is like my 97 F150, the trick mentioned above won't work. It only works on the digital odometers, and my '97 F150 was still the old dial analog type.

The ford gauges are pretty useless in terms of a "normal" temperature. It really comes down to noticing a change from what the gauge normally does. If this is what it did before, then forget about it. If it is a real gauge, it should move around a bit and is normal. That's why Ford has gone to the dummy oil pressure guages - too many people freak out if the needle moves.

 

[TheTanSedan]

Without knowing the accuracy/reliability of an oem dash gauge, it's hard to tell.

My rule of thumb: 15-18 miles at 50 mph for "complete" vehicle warm-up (above freezing) for coolant/oil/trans/bearings/etc to begin to burn off accumulated acids/water and crud.

Best to get a known quality temp gauge (Autometer or comparable) and tee it into system to find out what is really happening.

Obviously, if hoses/belts/fluids/pump/thermostat oare over 60k, then a complete system overhaul with radiator R & R may be advisable. Cooling systems are notoriously and singly the one most likely to have been ignored by the owner.