Hotter, Hotter, Normal- WTF?

[sandcruiser]

I've been driving around with a very slow radiator leak for a few weeks (I know, fix it.. but the nearest shop is over an hour away and I don't have a spare day right now). So every week or two, I'll see the temp inch up towards 200. When I do, I stop and add water.

Yesterday, it was up to 200, then 205.... so I thought- oops, better add water. Stopped the truck to realize that my water bottle was empty

But then I jumped back in to go to a nearby water spigot, and the temp dropped right back down to 170 and stayed there for another 10-15 minutes.

Wazzup with that?

Maybe the tstat failing? Air bubble? General Weirdness?
At least it isn't running hot right now, but I'm concerned. Guess I'll have to give up the truck for a day or two and get that rad repaired.

 

[batman]

I know there has been a problem with the 62 series a short in the gauge somewhere and it is causing the temp gauge to rise and fall, but there is another symptom with this the fuel gauge also rises at the same time. might be something so look into. For the air bubble question, make sure you burp the system turn on all your heaters and add coolant when needed. You Might have to start and stop a few times to get all the air out..

To be on the safe side I would check my coolant level every time if I knew I had a leak... Remember that your thermo does not read steam or air temp, so if there is an air bubble right there where it take its measurement you will not get an accurate reading... Food for thought.

 

[sandcruiser]

Good point
I'm runnning a mechanical guage, so the jumpy stock guage idea is not the culprit, but the steam/air idea certainly seems like it could be what is happening.

Mostly I guess what I really need to do is just suck it up, rent a car for a few days, and get the radiator fixed!

 

[batman]

BTW. I enjoyed your web site with the pictures. When do you find time to take trips like that? Looks like you might not have kids, or you didn't at the time.

You know the name of your 88 is the name of my Dog, and I was going to name my 88 after my dog who is named after sublimes dog. Well there goes that idea.

I guess I could take trips like that if the wife enjoyed it as much as I did, and now I have a baby to be born next month sometime.

bruce

 

[BigSteve]

Wow, Am I glad I read this thread!

I have been having the “temp gauge spikes and then comes back down” syndrome in my 62 and have been dreading the bill. (I already paid for the flush and new thermostat) This morning I was sitting with the engine idling before walking to my office and saw the temp gauge spike-along with the gas gauge (never noticed it before), they both rose to the top and then dropped back down. What can you tell me about this problem, i.e. how much $ to fix?

The more I thought about it on my walk in form the Cruiser, the more it seemed to make sense, how can any liquid drop 40+ degrees in less than 5 seconds? (granted I don’t know a thing about fluid dynamics/physics,) it just seems more likely that I have been having an electrical problem, plus I would rather have an electrical problem as opposed to a cooling issue any day…..

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Landpimp]

2 options.

1, take apart the cluster, pull the fuel gauge and clean the set of points on the back, this may or may not fix the problem.

2, buy a new fuel gauge($30) install it.....problem fixed.

I tried #1....ended up doing #2 to fix it.

cluster is easy to pull

Wow, Am I glad I read this thread!

I have been having the “temp gauge spikes and then comes back down” syndrome in my 62 and have been dreading the bill. (I already paid for the flush and new thermostat) This morning I was sitting with the engine idling before walking to my office and saw the temp gauge spike-along with the gas gauge (never noticed it before), they both rose to the top and then dropped back down. What can you tell me about this problem, i.e. how much $ to fix?

The more I thought about it on my walk in form the Cruiser, the more it seemed to make sense, how can any liquid drop 40+ degrees in less than 5 seconds? (granted I don’t know a thing about fluid dynamics/physics,) it just seems more likely that I have been having an electrical problem, plus I would rather have an electrical problem as opposed to a cooling issue any day…..

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Behemoth60]

Definately an air bubble.

Generally, when the stock gauges lie to you, both the fuel and temp gauge lie together. i.e. the temp will read hotter than normal, and the fuel will read higher than it really is. This usually happens to me on road trips... the fuel gauge doesn't seem to go down... will stay on 3/4 tank or so. The further the 3/4 reading is away from the real level in the tank, the hotter the temp gauge will read. Turn off the truck, let the gauges fall, turn the truck back on, and both gauges read their true levels.

But, a low water level will force an air bubble into the thermostat housing. From there, it needs to go down through the the thermostat or get pushed down into the rad. If that bubble is stuck there, it can stop the water flow and the steam that collects at the top can make for a very high temp reading. Changes in engine speed (and therefore waterpump speed), or stopping and going (causing the water to rock back and forth in the engine) can help dislodge that air bubble from the high spot and allow cooler water to flow to through the thermostat housing, and provide the lower water temp reading. If you have a known leak, and you're getting hot/hotter/cold readings, you DEFINATELY have an air bubble.

Buck up and fix yer damn rad.

But I do not condone trying to fix the temp/fuel gauge wierdness. Knowledge of and patience for such an anomoly is the hallmark of true and dedicated 60 series drivers.

Peter Straub

 

[sandcruiser]

yep. time to fix the rad...
will drop it off at the mechanic on monday. Good timing- I'm leaving the country for three weeks. That should be just about enough time for him to pull the rad out. Maybe find the leak. Possibly even fix the leak. So when I get back maybe all that will be needed is to reinstall. That would be great.

Maybe, if I'm really really lucky, he'll even have time to attend to the A/C. Heck, since he's got the front pulled apart anyway, it is as good a time as any to clean stuff out and find the leak in that system too.

Wish me luck!