Help with cooling problem

[mcstein]

I have a 1986 ranger v6 2.9L 5 speed 4x4 with 91,000 miles. My water pump starting leaking out the weep hole on an so I replaced it. After I replaced it the temp gauge ran real hot. To the top if norm range. While it was running hot I turned to heater on and got cold air. I turn off truck, wait 5 minutes and open radiator. Alls good. I start it up again, gauge is reading right so I drive to my pop's house which is 1.5 miles away. No one home so I turn around(never turned off truck) and halfway home it starts getting hot but stays in the norm range. Today I drove it to work and temp was fine. After work it gets hot again so I got a thermostat and changed it. I just ran it warm and toped everything off and its still is running warm (at the top of the norm range) just from idling. Any ideas? I flushed the radiator out when we bought it in november (by removing it and flushing out both ways).

Any ideas?

 

[adsm08]

In the normal range is still good, even if it's near the top. Mine normally runs near the N and I get worried if it doesn't go that high because I know I'm low on coolant. You may have just knocked some crap off the coolant temp sensor.

Try top filling the heater core to make sure all the air is out. Air likes to get trapped in there and it can cause the temp gauge to shoot up like that.


Pop both heater hoses off at the engine, and then hold one a bit higher than the other and pour coolant down the upper one.

 

[mcstein]

I'll give it a shot.

It used to run pretty much in the middle of the norm range. I thought it would cool off a little bit with a brand new pump. That 1st time it ran and went over the norm range was a little bit of a suprise.