Temp Gage Quit Working

[ford4wd08]

Yes, nothing wrong with that at all, racers always run 160deg thermostats

Thermostats set minimum operating temp, so can't help much with overheating, but 160deg should be open all the way after 8-10min so should keep the temp gauge below 1/2 full time
And 170-180deg(upper engine temp) is plenty warm for heater

Thanks for the advice as usual Ron. I still plan on changing the water pump as I'll be working on all of this at the same time anyhow.

 

[ford4wd08]

Changed my tune a little bit lol.

Decided that the water pump seemed to be working good. I did a GOOD flush and installed the proper 180 degree T stat in the lower housing.

Went a lot smoother than the first time I changed it, and the housing seemed to seal up good with a new gasket and rubber ring.

I decided to ditch the sender I had bought and got a new motorcraft one from rock auto. It made the gage read properly now and everything seems to be functioning as it should with bright green coolant circulating.