tx-skydiver

Ok. So long story and will try to keep it short.

Got a 2006 GT convertible in a trade deal. Engine tapped and it always ran hot, but never overheated on me. Wife took it to work one day when her GT broke down and it overheated and popped the engine.

I found a boneyard motor (I know...shoulda upgraded...but didn't). Installed it using new radiator fan, water pump, intake with thermostat. Guy I traded with said the radiator itself had been recently replaced.

New engine purrs nicely. No ticking, good power and alot of fun. However the temp guage shows me to still be too hot...but again does not overheat on me (I won't let my wife test this time LOL).

I sat with it running in a grovery store parking lot for 15 minutes and it seemed to cool off just a bit. Once I got to driving again it warmed up a little. Then when I got home seemed to cool off again.

The guage was a little hot at all times. Never did it sit pointing straight up like our 2004 GT does.

Ideas?

tadpole1969

check that radiator first sounds like it may be the issue, see if it may need a good flush,and if its not really running hot then i would see if temp sensor is bad

tx-skydiver

My money is on the fact that it is a radiator for a V6. I am ordering a new one and will install.

tadpole1969

yup i would say thats it, if the one in it is for a v6 , probaly **** poor water
flow for your motor

tx-skydiver

Well I got the new one and inspected before I started draining and changing. The new one is backwards. The fat end and skinny end are opposite each other so if I changed it out the fan would not fit it properly.

That said, I ran the car with the cap off to see what would happen. It ran until the guage showed 3/4 the way to red...then the fan suddenly turned on for about a minute, then back off. Guage then showed about 60% toward the red. That trend continued.

Since I had the cap off I wanted to see circulation. When the needle was straight up (50%) I saw some gurgling and a little overflow and spillage then it calmed down and I saw no significant movement in the coolant. The water pump is brand new so I expected to see significant movement of water.

The car never overheated after about 30 minutes of idling. Surely this can't be normal for this car.

tx-skydiver

Changed thecoolant sensor and coolant guage units on the manifold. Fixed the AC while I was at it and viola...fixed. Stays in normal temp range now.
BUT. Damn ABS light on now. Uggg. LOL