Volvo Repair: water temp gauge abnormal, center marker, radiator shop

Question
QUESTION: hello, my 1992 eagle talon 4 cyl has been running abnormal water tempuratures lately, it youst to run a little left of the center marker but now it runs either dirrectly in the middle or over but does not reach the hot side on the gauge, the farthest its been was 3/4 of the way to hot side, but goes back to the center marker and a lil over it, one day i parked the car after a 30 minute run,i turned off the car for a few minutes then started it aagain, poped the hood and checked the water temp while car was running, oddly, the needle was where it youst to be or should be at ( a little left of the center marker) the fan turns on when needed and off, i used 2 different temp metters, 1 digital,  1 not, both read 185 degrees F, but, next day when i drove the car the needle was at the middle or a lil over, also i dont think my fans are turning on while i drive, possibly because it is super cold outside, but i know the thermastat opens, water flows, but i dont know whats wrong please help, also even over night of not being turned on, even for 32 hours of the car not being started, when i start the car, the needle rises to about where the car youst to run at while being drivin ( a lil left of the center marker) the car youst to take about 10 minutes of running before the needle even got to this point on the gauge, but not it just gets there right away even after for not being started for 30 plus hours? what it wrong with mny car?? please help!

ANSWER: John,
If you get a normal temp reading immediately upon starting a cold car, you probably have a problem with the gauge or sending unit. Your electric fans should not need to run while driving, they should come on only when no air is otherwise moving through the radiator. If your car is really running hotter than it used to, you may need to flush the radiator. You can buy a chemical cleaner at any auto parts store. If that doesn't do it, you can have a flow test run at a radiator shop that will tell you what is going on. Then, if necessary, the radiator can be rodded out by the shop to restore normal flow.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: sounds good i will try, also, today, dec. 17. 07 i drove my car for about 30 min, cars water temp needle ranged a lil over the center marker, as soon as i got home i put a thermomiter in the water while car was idleing, water temp reading was 205 degrees, also, forgot to tell you, i have a new radiator in, 2 years old, as well as a new thermastat 2 years old, and when i flushed out the system when i installed the new raditor i only used water to flush it out but the temp needle did not read these abnormal readings till now, 2 years later? also i do not mix water with my coolents, is that also a possibilty of this problem occuring? and the needle does jump to old normal temp readings on a cold start up, but sensor must still be good since the reading it gave me today was over the center marker today and the temp was 205? also when i push the car to 4-5k rpm 2nd gear to 5th, the water temp rises really fast well over the center marker but not to hot side, it never youst to do this, i could get her to 5-6k on every gear and the needle would not even move much, non the less anything past the center marker, but now it runs at the center marker or over. does this new info help any to give more possibility for more help?

Answer
John,
Coolant is not only for freeze protection, but also for corrosion protection. Since you haven't used it, you may have some blockage problems in the water jacket of the engine. I would try the chemical flush, then install the recommended antifreeze for your engine. You can buy a kit at any auto parts store to allow you to flush with the water pressure from your garden hose. Be sure to remove the thermostat before flushing, otherwise water won't flow through the engine. Also, I'm sure you know to be very careful when removing the radiator cap from a hot engine. By the way, is your cap good? That may well be your problem. It should maintain 12- 15 psi during normal operation. I would check the seal on the cap first. Sorry I didn't mention it earlier.