Water Temp....Running hot!

if the temp gage goes slowly to the 3/4 mark without stopping, and then goes down in the 195 range I would suspect that the T-stat is stuck or not opening at all.

 

+1, I assume it was replaced with water pump at last major? If so, why failing. If not, should have been.

Jeff

 

My guess would be thermostat number one, and water pump number two. Totally different car, but my Trans Am acted in a similar manner a few years back when the water pump was going out. However, seeing how your pump was just rebuilt, I would try swapping out t-stat first.

 

My 328 had a similar issue. Turned out that the cooling system was losing pressure due to a failed hose clamp. Check your clamps, and you might want to replace your coolant cap with the later 1.1 bar version

 

And what about the radiator under these conditions? (Carefully) feel the temperature of the large water line entering the top of the radiator:

cold = probably bad thermostat
hot = probably bad fan motor electrics

 

When you shut the car off after a drive, does it make any groaning noises or sporadic gurgling noises? My car used to do *exactly* as you described, only when I parked it, I would hear noises coming from the car - air bubbles in the less-than-full (i.e., leaking) system.

Check your level when cold in the expansion tank - there is a hash mark stamped into the tank at the "full" level where you coolant should be when cold.

I've found that the wooden paint stir-sticks you get at Home Depot and the like make excellent dipsticks. You can mark them with a Sharpie (doesn't dissolve when wet), and they fit perfectly down in the neck of the expansion tank. Just make sure it's free of any wooden splinters, etc.

Best of luck, Jim.

 

Bleed the air out of the system first. 90% of the time that is the problem, thermostats do not normally fail on 308's or 328's.

 

I guess I am lucky

I've got more or less the opposite problem: it will hardly get warm!

Water is always at 80C or so, and the oil just shy of the 100C mark.

During winter it takes 20+ miles for things to warm up at all, and with current summer temps, everything still is 80C/95C as above.

Can't complain...

Hans

 

If your coolant is low and you have no visible leaks then its likely the cap has gone bad. They don't last, get weak & you've just been dropping coolant out the overflow on your way down the road.

When you've dropped enough you start to see air locks in the system & the temp gauge climbing & then falling when you rev the thing. I think you can cook the heads real quick like this so get it fixed & refill the system.

rgds

I.

 

Sounds about right - you only worry if you see the thing actually cooling below say 70C on the highway and then only climbing again in traffic. At that point you can be fairly sure your Thermostat needs replacing.

If you Stat is working properly the car should run at basically the same water temperature winter or summer unless you are sitting in traffic at which point the water temp will climb till the fans come on.

Oil temp will vary depending on how hard you are driving - water temp should not unless you REALLY thrash it up a mountain for an hour.

 

...and for $6, you might as well go to your nearest auto parts place and ask for a Stant cap (p/n 10229) to replace your existing 1.1bar cap. Even if your current cap doesn't appear to be leaking, it's $6 for piece of mind and having ruled at least one thing out.

 

Jim, you're becoming paranoid and overreacting.!

Just check the expansion tank, and if the coolant is approximately 1" to 2"s below the bottom of the filler neck, it's ok.

All you have to do is 'eye' it, like you would do on any car.