Bizzar temp behavior 90 Daytona T1

[Gearjamer]

I have finally gotten my 90 Daytona ES running. I have an 89 T1 motor from a Shadow. The car runs good but the temp gauge fluxuates alot. Once the car is warmed up the temp gauge will rest at the 1st line (top of the first third of the range) for a moment then start to climb. It will go to the top of the second third of the gauge when the fan starts then fall back to just below the top of the first third. The fan shuts off and it will sit there for a minuite or two then climb back up and start the whole cycle over again. Is this normal? It dose it when driving as well.

[magtec]

did you bleed the air from the cooling system?

is it losing coolant?

any bubbling in the radiator or overflow bottle when the engine is running?

the heater core might be plugged. if there is a heater control valve try switching the blend thingie (yeah, i'm that technical) to recirculate.

[Juggy]

faulty coolant temp sensor?

[Gearjamer]

I'm going to check the temp sensor. The reason being, I was sitting in a drive through getting some lunch and the fan was kicking on much sooner than normal. The car never got above the first third of the temp gauge and would then cool off to almost the bottom of the gauge. I'll probably just change them out. I have two other motors to pull sensors from.

Thanks

[chilort]

What's it do when out on the highway cruising at a constant 55 or so? If it stays cold and never warms up, then it is a bad t-stat. Bad t-stats also seem to allow quite a bit more temp fluctuation when sitting too.

[2.2turboscotty]

i was thinking the thermostat too, i have had very close to the same problems and found the thermostat had a "sticking spot" when pushing it open with my fingers. changed it and temps were perfect. i always drill a 1/8" hole also to help. good luck

[MiniMopar]

Doesn't sound that unusual to me when not moving. A new t-stat is a cheap enough fix, but the stock fan schedule lets the temp fluctuate quite a bit. When driving at speed, the temp should hold steady.

[Turbo_Rampage]

The reason being, I was sitting in a drive through getting some lunch and the fan was kicking on much sooner than normal.



Does it have A/C? Because if it's on defrost (even if your temp control is set to warm) the cooling fan will kick on and off same as the A/C pump about every half a minute or so, and then shut back off again. My Neon did this and so does my Daytona and all other chrysler products that i've owned did it as well and i was told they ran the A/C on defrost to help get out the condensation in the air faster...

[Gearjamer]

The temp flux happens when crusing. The A/C dose not work but on defrost the fan might still kick on and off. I don't know I will have to experiment. I didn't get to look at the car this weekend. It drives fine. I have a little vibration at 50+. Had the tires rebalenced but it didn't change much. The alignement was just done as well. I'm going to check the half shafts when I look at the temp sensors. I commute on back roads 15 miles to work each way so it's not a rush. Thanks guys.

[MiniMopar]

If there's no pressure in the A/C system, the fan won't cycle because of it. Sounds like t-stat or some air in the system. Make sure to drill a bleed hold in the new one.

[2.2turboscotty]

in the Scamp the temp was going up sometimes and then down. not everytime but mostly at highway speeds it just seemed to "climb" a bit without any reason. next day would be ok then later it would do it again, stayed alright if just going about 40-45mph. took the head off it because i got another better one from Cindy and put the head on the Charger that always ran cool and it started to do the same thing, i was like WTF? i pulled the t-stat out and like i said pushed it open with my fingers and felt a "tight" spot, even if it's new. put new one in with the hole drilled and all better now, sounds like t-stat. the hole also helps with bleeding the air out of the cooling system.

[Gearjamer]

The T-stat is the first thing I'll look at this weekend. T-stat is cheap but I hate having to drain the fluid... even a little. Thanks again

[chilort]

the t-stat is one of the highest points on the engine. You really don't use much fluid. I even jack up the car a bit in the front after I disconnect the hose an pinch it back. The most annoying thing to me is buying a new gasket. Cheap jerks selling t-stats at the parts stores. The gasket should come with the t-stat.

[Gearjamer]

I think I found my problem or most of it. I haven't taken the car on a long trip till today. Drove about 25mi one way and found my temp would spike easily. Everytime I got on the gas hard. When I got home the fan was running and I popped the hood to check the air flow. One half of the fan was blowing hot... the other half cold. I got out my IR temp meter and sure enough. Passenger side of the radiator was 190, drivers side 75. So now that I need a new radiator can anyone tell me a good place to get one. I figure I'll put in a T2 radiator so I can run an IC more easily.

Bill

[chilort]

They are sometimes for sale on eBay. I picked mine up from the for sale section on this board. I got a better price than eBay by a few bucks.

Non IC rads are still for sale new. I picked one up from AutoZone a few years back for an '88 NA Daytona I had. It lasted until I got rid of the car, which was a couple of years.

I've also got a non-IC rad I'd let go cheap. It was in the car when I switched over and worked fine.