92 GMC C1500 Coolant Temperature

[tayto]

Schurkey, I think the motorcraft will be my new flush. this was the first time I used it myself. my locally parts chain up in winterlane normally only stocks the gunk brand in 500ml bottles. ford says you can add up to 10% of the total coolant capacity. they also say to remove thermostat, dump in flush and run at 1700 rpm for a hour. i've read of guys driving around for a day or 2 so that's the route i went. i had installed a new heater core and had it bypassed while doing this as well.

 

[EmeraldCityGuy]

My temp gauge was like yours. Luckily, I have ISS Automotive nearby (25 miles). They specialize in rebuilding these old instrumen clusters. They let me in to watch & learn. Each gauge has a stepper motor that responds to ohm changes from their sending units. If you know your sending unit is good, then the stepper motor could be bad. But, as Frank suggested, pull the needle off and reset it.

I don’t like the original gauges, so when upgrading the radio, I removed the am/fm unit (my truck is a 92), put in the replacement shelf Metro offers, then installed two 52mm gauges to read the engine oil and transmission fluid temps. Looks slick and works great.

 

[2JCrispy]

I know you replaced it, but maybe the thermostat is stuck open. My truck ran around the same temp and I thought it had something to do with the gauges as well (I have the old moonie gauges), but turned out to be just a stuck open thermostat.

 

[Schurkey]

Each gauge has a stepper motor... ...(my truck is a 92)

You have stepper motor gauges in a '92?

That's WAY earlier than I expected.

 

[DavidAlan]

I live in the frozen tundra I drive in temps of 102 to -60 below, and I drive a 92 K1500 and have replaced radiator and T-stat and found that air pockets are normal to form, remove that and gauge may work, if not ,who cares, go buy a good gauge from a performance shop and have something actuate .