blake45a

Quick question, if the gauge on my instrument panel says engine temperature is regular (needle in the middle) than i must have enough coolant fluid right? if my fluid was low i would see a problem with the temperature. logical right?

mapitts

The needle just shows your coolant temperature in the block. If you have plenty of coolant in the overflow tank and your needle is lower than normal you may have a thermostat gone bad. I could also mean that your coolant temp sending unit in the block has lost it's mind. That can also cause it to read high. What symptoms are you having? What year car? How many miles, etc.

blake45a

I have an 06 gt with 40k. when i pop the hood and check out that overflow tank its almost empty, so my question is: is it bad if its practically empty but the temperature gauge reads that its fine. should i add more coolant fluid or is it fine, and does the correct temp gauge verify that?? thanks so much

Nuke

There should be a hot and cold level marked on the reservoir (but it's been awhile since I looked at ours). You may simply be a tad low if the fluid is low when the engine is hot. It won't hurt to add some water to the proper cold level, then keep an eye on it over the next few weeks. As long as there's SOMETHING in the reservoir, your cooling system should be full.

blake45a

Thanks a lot rick. Ill fill it to the cold level when i get home later this afternoon and keep an eye on it. FYI I havent gotten a "low coolant" indicator or anything. But yesterday something a little weird happened, my temp gauge read normal for the whole day, and it has always been right in the middle, but midday (95 degrees btw) in traffic i noticed the temp gauge read 2/3 to 3/4 hot. it fluctuated between 2/3 and 3/4 for a minute then hovered at 3/4. then after maybe 10 minutes, the needle returned to being in the middle. And a quick drive later that day warranted the needle again in the correct position. is my gauge going crazy or is that normal? i havent checked today to see if its normal needle position yet.

thanks as always for the help

Nuke

What year and how many miles on your engine? And have you ever flushed and refilled the coolant? If you've been experiencing these high 90's/low 100's it's not improbable to be sitting in traffic and have the temp gauge go up a bit, as long as it's not pushing into the red. As long as you have the proper mix, good flow and a thermostat that's not about to poop the bed then you should be fine.

If all else checks out fine and you're not loosing coolant then you might want to look into a coolant additive. Amsoil sells one that seems to outperform the rest and can lower temps about 20 degrees, IIRC, from what's been reported on the forum.

danzcool

Please use distilled water or some of the pre-mixed coolant to top up. Don't use tap water unless you have some sort of special treatment, tap water causes corrosion.

blake45a

hey guys thanks for the responses. just put enough water into the reserve to reach about the cool fill range. btw i have a 2006 gt, 41k. Im not sure about a past flush/ refill. im the 2nd owner, all i know is i havent done it. ya its been hot here, but never any red, not even for a second. that coolant additive sounds great ill look into that for sure if everything goes to plan.