High engine temp without overheating

[PINTHEUS]

I HAVE A 1986 FORD RANGER 2.9 4WD WHICH I BOUGHT FOR NEXT TO NOTHING LAST OCTOBER,,HE COULDN'T GET HER OVER 35 MPH,,SO I BOUGHT HER KNOWING IT WAS MORE THAN LIKELY AN IGNITION PROBLEM,,HE HAD HER MIS-WIRED & ONLY FIRING ON 3 CYLINDERS,,WHEN I CORRECTED THE FIRING ORDER,,SHE RAN GREAT THEN WARMED UP & THE BURN OFF OF OIL ON THE BLOCK BEGAN,,TOOK QUITE A WHILE TO STOP,,SHE STILL RUNS WELL WITH THE SO CALLED NORMAL LIFTER TICK,,HOWEVER SHE RUNS BEST WHEN COLD,,ONCE OPERATING TEMP IS REACHED,TEMP GAUGE EXCEEDS NORMAL TEMP LEVEL WITHOUT OVERHEATING,,I REPLACED THE SENDING UNIT, WATER PUMP,ALL HOSES,THERMOSTAT,DID A COMPLETE BACK FLUSH OF THE RADIATOR & BLOCK,,SHE STILL RUNS VERY WARM,DOESN'T OVERHEAT OR LOSE COOLANT,BUT UPON HEATING UP SHE LACKS THE PERFORMANCE SHE HAS WHEN COLD,,I'M WONDERING IF A NEW OIL PUMP & SCREEN WOULD BE A SOLUTION TO HER RUNNING SO WARM,,LACK OF LUBRICATION CAUSING EXTREME FRICTION CAUSING HER TO RUN HOT WITHOUT OVERHEATING ? I ALMOST FORGOT,,ONCE OPERATING TEMP IS REACHED & I PULL UP TO A RED LIGHT,,OIL PRESSURE DIPS SO LOW YOU CAN'T READ IT ON THE GAUGE,,ONCE YOU BEGIN TO DRIVE IT RISES AGAIN,BUT THE PERFORMANCE STILL ISN'T WHAT IT SHOULD BE,, I'M THINKING A NEW OIL PUMP & SCREEN & POSSIBLY DIFFERENT OIL MAY HELP,,ANY IDEA'S & OR HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED THANKS

 

[RonD]

Hard to read with all CAPITALS.

No, oil pressure wouldn't be the reason.
Oil pressure actually means too much oil, in a way.
I think the '86 would have an oil pressure switch, so gauge is either low(under 6 psi) switch off or medium(over 6 psi) switch on.
If there is no lifter noise at warm idle oil pressure would be above 3 psi, while not great still not a reason for overheating.

Could be you are running too lean, lean mix causes engine to run hotter.
Whats the mileage like or is it too soon to tell?

My '94 had a partially blocked heater core which caused temp to go hot then normal, kept repeating that after it warmed up.

Flushing the rad is good but doesn't really help if it's clogged.
Couple of tests you can do with rad in the truck.
Warm up engine
Then have some one hold the engine at 2,500 rpm(approx.) and feel the upper then lower rad hoses.
If upper feels tight but lower hose is soft(easy to squeeze) then rad is blocked up.
Water pump is pushing in water to rad faster than rad can take it so lower hose is getting sucked down in pressure.

Shut off engine and the feel the rad cooling fins, may have to pop off the shroud, fins should be warm and there should be no cooler spots, if you feel a cooler spot or spots then hot water(coolant) isn't passing thru those tubes, so blockage.

 

[BabyBronco89]

Have you checked the timing, once my distributer came lose on my 89 2.9l b2 and caused it to run very warm and lack performance, but it ran great until it warmed up

Make sure you pull the spout connector when you set it to 10degs btdc then reinstall spout


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[PINTHEUS]

I reset timing to specs a while back,,will double check

 

[PINTHEUS]

I RESET TIMING TO SPECS A WHILE BACK,WILL DOUBLE CHECK THOUGH,,sorry about the caps,will also check heater core & radiator as suggested & will post my findings asap,,thanks guys