Thread: does this sound like a bad thermostat?

That sounds like normal temps. Believe the stock thermostat is a 195*.

No, mine and my brothers GP does the same thing. Sitting in traffic I always notice the gauge creep a bit until I get moving. Even with the A/C on (which automatically calls both fans ON) the temp is going to rise. I've got around 400K on my engine currently and it hasn't cooked itself yet. My 95 Bonneville with the same series II 3800 is at 312K and acts exactly the same.

If the coolant is old then I'd just flush the system and refill with standard green coolant and call it a day.

Originally Posted by FordMan77

No, mine and my brothers GP does the same thing. Sitting in traffic I always notice the gauge creep a bit until I get moving. Even with the A/C on (which automatically calls both fans ON) the temp is going to rise. I've got around 400K on my engine currently and it hasn't cooked itself yet. My 95 Bonneville with the same series II 3800 is at 312K and acts exactly the same.

If the coolant is old then I'd just flush the system and refill with standard green coolant and call it a day.

thanks for the info..ditch the orange dex-cool and go with green?

Yep. Flush the entire system until it's clear (don't forget to clean out the overflow bottle). Once you get it clean, I usually just drain the radiator and refill that and the coolant bottle with green. Should be about the perfect mix of water/coolant. And do NOT buy the pre-mixed stuff or your water/coolant ratio will be off.

There are instruction on here on how to bleed the cooling system as well. Yes, there is a proceedure, lol..