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Just when I thought my '86 Spider was running great and I vowed to keep my project list on hold while I enjoy driving it over the summer, I had cooling system issues over the weekend.
On Saturday I drove it about 40 miles without incident, except that I noticed something strange for the first time (not saying it never happened before- I just never noticed it). The temperature gauge moved up and down (as much as 30 degrees) while turning, but otherwise read around 180. Yesterday, however, I took it out again and, after only a short trip (about 1-2 miles), noticed the gauge reading over 180. Instead of continuing my trip, I decided to return home and test it around the neighborhood. After going up to about 200, it settled back down to 180 for a minute or two but then started creeping up, until I decided I better head home. By the time I got in the driveway, the red idiot light started to glow slightly.
The overflow reservoir remains at the max line and the neck of the radiator has some coolant in it. I never experienced any steam or boiling. I tried again tonight and had the same symptoms. The auxiliary fan is not turning on but I don't think that explains the problem. I am wondering if (actually hoping) it's the temperature sending unit (maybe it's really not running hot but it's misreading the temp). Unfortunately, I don't currently have access to a non-contact temperature sensor to determine the actual coolant temperature. Since the sending unit is cheap, I am thinking about just replacing it and seeing what happens.
Any advice?
Thanks in advance.
On Saturday I drove it about 40 miles without incident, except that I noticed something strange for the first time (not saying it never happened before- I just never noticed it). The temperature gauge moved up and down (as much as 30 degrees) while turning, but otherwise read around 180. Yesterday, however, I took it out again and, after only a short trip (about 1-2 miles), noticed the gauge reading over 180. Instead of continuing my trip, I decided to return home and test it around the neighborhood. After going up to about 200, it settled back down to 180 for a minute or two but then started creeping up, until I decided I better head home. By the time I got in the driveway, the red idiot light started to glow slightly.
The overflow reservoir remains at the max line and the neck of the radiator has some coolant in it. I never experienced any steam or boiling. I tried again tonight and had the same symptoms. The auxiliary fan is not turning on but I don't think that explains the problem. I am wondering if (actually hoping) it's the temperature sending unit (maybe it's really not running hot but it's misreading the temp). Unfortunately, I don't currently have access to a non-contact temperature sensor to determine the actual coolant temperature. Since the sending unit is cheap, I am thinking about just replacing it and seeing what happens.
Any advice?
Thanks in advance.