Engine Temp how hot is too hot?
So I was just wondering what any of you guys think about this? A few years ago I went camping in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. A place called Tuff Campground. I drove an all stock other than a 4in turbo ...
Forum Discussion
smkettner wrote:
Skip the gauge as you already have one. No worry until the needle actually moves.
My Ford does the same. In 14 years I have seen the needle move just a nudge 3 times.
Plenty o' time to adjust speed if needed. I just held the hammer down.
BTW 50/50 coolant and 15 psi is good to 265F.
Your 2001 Ford probably has the same temperature gauge my 2000 F250 did. It does not really respond to coolant temperature. It will indicate "normal" until some temperature limit is reached and then it will immediately peg to "hot". The gauge indication does not climb as the coolant gets hotter.
Hence the moniker "idiot gauge". It indicates okay or too hot with nothing inbetween.
The oil pressure gauge in our 2005 Envoy is similar. There is no pressure sending unit, only a switch. If the oil pressure is above something like 7 psi the gauge will indicate what the computer thinks the pressure should be based on rpm and maybe temperature. If the actual pressure drops below the ~7 psi setpoint the gauge drops to 0 and the check engine light comes on.
I hate idiot gauges, but understand their need from the automakers perspective. The general public likes to see gauges but don't understand that it's okay for the needles to move.
