Temperate gauge question

[airsel]

I recently became the proud owner of a 1993 viper with 9000 miles on it.

The temperature gauge seems a little wonky to me and I wanted to know if this was normal, so when I am say driving at 60 mph in 5th gear the needle will be at the 190 degrees mark. If I drop it into 6th it seems to go up to 210 like either the fans just seem to kick on and like it when im in 5th compared to 6th. A lot of the times ill be on the highway at 65-70mph in 5th because it keeps the temp below 190 and rises when I put it into 6th.

I guess my other main question is, does the temperature fluctuate a lot on the car from 180 up to 210 (or where ever the yellow indicator is) and then back down? I've never had a car do that and never been in another Viper before to see if this is actually how the car behaves?

Also if I leave the car parked and have it started it stays at the mid point / just below so it does not overheat even if parked. I'm going to be replacing out the head gasket in the near future just as a precaution since I believe it still has the older paper gasket (haven't been able to get it on a lift yet since no one wants to risk damaging it and boy was changing the oil filter a challenge, not sure if there is an easy way to get that dang filter out), but i jacked it up and checked around the bottom and its super clean with no signs of any coolant leaks, just cant get to the back of the engine yet to confirm.

 

[lane_viper]

I've got a 96 GTS so there may be differences, but the coolant temp gauges does fluctuate a lot in mine. It doesn't seem like what you describe. If mine is sitting still idling it goes up above the 200 and then kick the fans on to cool it back down. The faster you go and higher gear the cooler it runs.

It's possible it might be low of coolant, or have air trapped in the system.

 

[ViperRed]

You car does EXACTLY what mine does.

I have a 93 with 7k miles.

I have upgraded the radiator on mine and installed 200F thermostat as I couldn't get hold of a 190F, however, having said that... the coolant stays in the radiator slightly longer which cools it down further before the thermostat opens up.

In fact, in our 93 models, the temp gauge will hit the 230 mark and the check engine light flickers which is pretty normal. My car never over heated and I'm told our engines are meant to run hot.

Your temp gauge will bounce back and forth even on highway driving "sometimes". I am guessing it's the thermostat opening up slightly later than usual due to highway cruising.

You shouldn't worry too much, but I do highly recommend you burp the air out of your cooling system. It is a common phenomenon.

 

[DJ'sviper]

I have a 93. Always drive in 6th gear on highway. It makes sense that the temp might be lower in that the car might be running more coolant through it to cool the engine down. My car temp drops when I'm on the highway and cool air is coming into it. Idling the car temp will get hot can go up to 210 or more. I put in a thermostat that has kept some of the temperatures down. It's probably not your gauge, just nature of the beast. A lotto hot air can come in through the interior. I bought after market insulation and had the exhaust wrapped in airplane foil and it really cut back the heat. Can get so hot that the side sills will blister the paint. Wrapping the exhaust helped and you don't burn your calves as much. Love my 93. Put a new top on. Has windows. LOL

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