Temp Guage suggestions

[Dreddstang]

OK, I took the Cobra on a trip to Va Beach last weekend and as usual, everything was going perfect with the car.........until Saturday afternoon. That morning I noticed the A/C not blowing so cold when stopped in traffic (everywhere I went last weekend was sitting in f'n traffic!)

Getting off 64 to stop at the local Harley dealer I got to a light and after a minute sitting there (it was about 200 degrees outside) I saw steam BILLOWING out through the hood vents! Glanced at the temp guage and of course it was right in the middle......it NEVER moves from there. Ever. Ever. At all. Ever.

Anyway, long story short, it ended up that my radiator fan motor was siezing up, causing it to blow it's fuse (thanks Jason for listening to me vent and throwing ideas!). With the local dealer (Beach Ford service dept SUCKS!) telling me they could not even put anti freeze in it until Thursday, I ended up at a local shop that charged me $511.00 for a new fan assembly.

Not too bad for being the middle of a Saturday out of town, and I have Ford warranty on the car so they are going to pay me back (already in the works).....but definately sucked having to come out of pocket on vacation and waste several hours screwing with the car!

Anyway, i've discovered I need an acurate temp guage to keep from blowing up my motor since the stock one doesn't move. At all. Ever. Not even a little if the car is running.

What do you guys suggest for a good guage that will match and work well? I think I am going to put it in a steering column pod........

This is mostly to vent, by the way...........:bash::bash::nonono::cuss:

 

[Dreddstang]

Oh....by the way the car ran flawlessly the rest of the weekend...no other problems. It's sitting in the garage filthy (to my standards) still because no time/ no wanting to look at it, lol.......that and I have been on the bike all week......

 

[TRBO VNM]

No problem Chris. And for gauges, speedhut imo is the way to go.

And yeah, another guy that was with me tuning on Friday, his fuse blew. We should know tonight if he has a fan issue or not. This heat is killing the cars around here.

 

[JStyles]

No problem Chris. And for gauges, speedhut imo is the way to go.

And yeah, another guy that was with me tuning on Friday, his fuse blew. We should know tonight if he has a fan issue or not. This heat is killing the cars around here.

+1 speedhut is my pick. I just bought a temp and a A/F last night. You can customize them to look like factory gauges. Great group of guys, service is top notch.

 

[Dreddstang]

I kept that stock fan assembly though Jason. Is it worth rebuilding?

 

[TRBO VNM]

yeah, you can get a replacement motor from carquest and sell it or have it as a spare. I need to get a motor for one I have here.

wildfifty just had the same thing happen.

 

[sunburned]

That's a terrible feeling isn't it? The fan controller went out on my '98 right after I rebuilt my engine. I was driving home on a 20*F day in January and got stopped in traffic right before my exit. I happen to glance at the temp gauge and see that it was almost pegged, about the same time as steam started coming from under the hood. Even in that super cold weather, it wasn't enough to keep it from overheating. Stupid little gremlins. Hooked my fan directly to the battery and it worked, so the controller was the obvious next step.

Glad to hear you got it fixed and are getting reimbursed. Now you have to make sure you don't have any air bubbles in the coolant hoses so it doesn't overheat again. Make sure to 'burp' the system soon.

 

[Dreddstang]

I watched the guy at the shop burp it......he actually seemed to know Terminators some, so that helped my comfort levels....I am not hot about having just any old hands running up under my hood, if you know what I mean!;-)

 

[WildFifty]

Man thats incredible, the exact same thing happen to me last friday. worst part about it it happen on the way back from having my car tuned. so i haven't even been able to get on it since the tune. Im going to call carquest to get a price on the motor. Jason said it should be around $200. If it really is that much, i think i might just order the whoLe motorcraft fan assembly through amazon. they have it listed for the same price.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Motorcraft-RF166-Radiator-Fan-Motor/dp/B000C5HQRI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312459880&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: Motorcraft RF166 Radiator Fan Motor: Automotive[/ame]

 

[TRBO VNM]

Well, I said it will be less than that. I don't recall exact price, but I think it was about $150 last we checked. hell, maybe it is under $100, just give them a call and ask.

 

[Ninedown]

This is a weird thread. My car has been down for a year due to me traveling not having time to finish up my TS project. I had Sansone Ford finish it up and Kevin tune it. Car came out awesome. Anyhow since I was near the NJ beach I figured I'd cruise out and enjoy the weather/beach/car. Of course my fan stops working as well. Hit 240 degress on my speedhut gauge, (which I recommend as well) stock gauge did move much past middle. Parked it and overflow was puking anitfreeze on my motor.

Havent had time or the patience to trouble shoot it. This all happened 3 weeks ago.

 

[Dreddstang]

Yeah, my fan was draggin big time which kept blowing the fuse and sutting it off. The fan motor sounded like there were dry marbles inside of it.....

I know Ford temp guages have never been worth MUCH, but the one in my Cobra litterally NEVER moves. I have a Crown Vic that I drive for work.....theone in that car works. Figures I get a dead one in the Cobra. It just goes to a hair over halfway and stays there. :cuss: