2.3L ('02-'11) 254 degree CHT?

[hannah2001]

You say you see good flow, so the following may not apply. I had an overheating problem on my truck. Fixed everything except the pump. Turned out the impeller had come loose from the shaft and was just friction spinning. So at idle it was fine but put a load on and overheat.

Mine seems to be doing this as well. Idle temperatures are fine and watching forscan while i'm driving if i put a load on it up a hill etc temperatures go up but as soon as i let up on it they go back down to normal(ish). Still kinda high but not nearly as bad under load. Honestly just gonna change the water pump. Motorcraft for $50 aint gonna hurt. If that doesn't fix it i guess i'll take the thermostat back out run a hose through the block and watch the flow for any blockages

I don't know what else to do besides that, unless forscan is just reading incorrectly which is why it would be nice if someone here had a 2.3 with forscan and could tell me what theirs was reading. The gauge also not going to the middle like my old engine is throwing me off so bad. If it didnt move at all I would assume a bad gauge but the fact it moves up 1/4 way and stops is just not making any sense to me