Chrysler Repair: 92 Chrysler LeBaron temp gauge issue, heat transfer characteristics, chrysler lebaron

Question
My car was working fine and I never had an issue with overheating. As a matter of fact, the gauge always stayed real low.  Then I moved to TX.  I drove here and when I got into town with the stop and go traffic, the gauge shot up.  Now the fan doesn't come on until it is almost in the red and then it will go down to half way and the fan will shut off and it will shoot right back up again.

Answer



Hi Lyric,
The present operation is probably 'normal' but you were accustomed to a different sort of gauge response when you lived in a cooler climate. The fan coming on is of course desirable and necessary to prevent overheating. If you haven't hit the H area or experienced boiling over then I would not consider this important. You might be able to reduce the temperature a bit by changing the thermostat to one that opens at 185 degrees if your present one is set to open at 195. If you open the thermostat housing the thermostat will have the opening temperature etched in the metal. You might also consider flushing the system to improve the heat transfer characteristics and thus lower the maximum temps. And of course use a 50/50 mixture of coolant/water. Those three approaches, individually or altogether should help keep the gauge below 7/8 scale which is the point of concern.
Roland

Hi Lyric,
Thanks for the comments and evaluation. If the fan is sluggish in starting up, which seems to be the case from what you described, it may just need to be lubricated which you may be able to do with a spout-type oiler using light weight oil applied to the motor shaft on either side of the motor. That is what I would try first before changing the thermostat. It would cost nothing and the engine would run more efficiently in the winter if you kept the 195 thermostat in place.