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I had a head gasket set installed this past week after the gasket blew on me the week before in my 1989 900S w/auto tranny. The head was warped and had to be machined of course, but other than that, I got a pretty good bill of health for a car with over 190,000 miles on it. Also, I would like to say that before this work the car's "normal" temp range on the gage was between 1/4 and 1/2.
At the same time, I replaced the fan thermo swith (with a cooler one) along with the thermostat (also a "cooler one"). All my hoses have been replaced (save for the large one that comes out of the bottom of the Expansion Tank (that I overlooked).
I got my car back on Saturday and I was excited - having one of the dreaded root cause problems fixed (head gasket). With that peace of mind, I took her on a short interstate trip (less than 80 miles).
I set the cruise on 70-72 or so, and the temp gage started out being about 1/2 way. As the miles went on (say 30-40), so did the temp gage, until it was solidly at about 3/4 - OR A LITTLE MORE! This alarmed me, as it never would rise that far before. I actually pulled off at a rest stop, and though the car initially rose a little hotter - it started cooling off (while idling).
After it cooled back to about half way (the fan was running hard) - I got back on the interstate, set the cruise on about 65, and all was fine - it stayed between half way and three quarters for the remainder of the trip.
One strange thing is that once we got there, I did a lot of around town, stop and go traffic, which to me SHOULD make it hotter, but it ran great. Stayed right at 1/2 on the gage.
Well, back on the interstate home, it did the same thing, though not as bad - stay between 1/2 and 3/4 on the gage, closer to 3/4.
Is this normal? Where do most of you guys' temp gage stay? My RPMs turn pretty high at interstate speeds, due to the 3 speed auto. At 75, she's turning between 3,500 and 4,000 RPM, but that's due, I know, to not having a fourth gear.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Rob Catron
'89 900S
'99 9-3 Viggen
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