Hey everyone my 1991 4.9 never gets below the n on normal. I drove it the other day for about 40 miles off and on and it never got over the n on the temperature gauge. Outside temperature was 80 degrees. Is that normal?

 

Yea that's where mine runs.

 

Ok, thanks! I was beginning to think my thermostat was stuck lol.

 

They aren't very accurate. When the needle moves from where it usually sits then you know there's a problem. I can get mine to move, if I wait too long to check the water.

 

Another thing is depending on what brand of temperature sensor you have, it will read differently.

The stock sensor reads low, but the one from Autozone reads higher.

Temperature is the same, though.

 

Mine typically runs between n and o, which leaves my coolant temp at ~171 degrees. Mine will move up to r on a hot day towing a heavyish load at 80 mph or so in the hills, and it will stay there. But my coolant is still only about 180 degrees, so the engine can't be too hot.

 

My 95 302 temp read at about the same spot as yours. Didn't really like that so I moved it to between o and r. Use a kitchen fork to lightly pry it off, reposition where you want it at. Gives you a chance to dust the black area and wipe down the clear plastic. The needle needs to move further for running temp so it starts moving faster on warm up.

At first I positioned it at the r and m, dead center. Thought I would like that but it freaked me out when it did run a little warmer and went past half way.

 

As Sean eluded to, if that's not your normal spot, then something could be off. If you continue to see it in a different spot then normal, you might want to look a little closer for a potential problem.

 

Might be true for flat ground but I live in the mountains. Climb a 6 or 7% on the highway the temp needle will move.

 

Why is that?