Car overheating

[mat82284]

my 5.0 1992 lx mustang runs at 260 degress and it stays at this temp i was told this is high and i checked my radiator and it had fluid and i had water also. im not shure what can cause this i ajusted my timing to 14 and i think that could be it but i did it a month ago and didnt really notice till now im going to put my timeing back to 10 tomarrow when i have time to test it. anyone else have any ideas? also i think my alternator doesnt work i just installed a 130 amp alternator and my meter varies between 12v and 14v when at idle also when i turn my heater and lights on my power drops down to 1 line above the 8 on my tach in my car im guessing thats 10v i just bought this from the ford recycling place and i have a warrenty so ill return it but does this seem like a bad alternator or does the mustangs take this much power? 1 more problem is my heater doesnt put out any heat does that mean my heater core needs replacement. thanks for reading and thanks for your replys.

 

[StangBangRicers]

Stock pullies or Aftermarket?

 

[mat82284]

stock

 

[mike keirstead]

Sounds like your thermostat is froze or seized shut.Not letting any coolant in the motor.

 

[mike keirstead]

Your pulleys arnt the problem. I have them and my car stays at 180. Replace your thermostat. They are like $8. Take 4 minutes to change. It would also explain your in car heat problems. The thermostat opens and lets the coolant flow through the tube that lays on top of your lower intake to your core.

 

[StangBangRicers]

err too late...

 

[mike keirstead]

What do you mean to late

 

[StangBangRicers]

What do you mean to late

Posted same thing damn near...

 

[mike keirstead]

when???

 

[StangBangRicers]

when???

I re-edited it... It just doesn't say I did.

Probally did it before anyone refreshed the page.

 

[mike keirstead]

Oh you said the same thing i did but i beat you to it. I didnt know what you were talking about....lol

 

[Michael Yount]

Where is the 260F number coming from? Do you have the stock gauge or an aftermarket unit? Are there any other overheating symptoms - are you boiling the coolant out of the radiator? Do you have signs of oil in the coolant or coolant in your oil? (Check the dipstick) One way to check the t'stat is to simply remove it, and run the car a bit that way. If the temp comes right down (in fact, this time of year you'll have trouble getting any heat in it without the t'stat) then your t'stat may be sticking closed or partially closed, and a new t'stat may solve the problem.

If you're basing numbers on the factory gauge, they're notoriously inaccurate. Also, if there are no other overheating symptoms, it may be that your gauge sending unit is defective. In other words, the gauge is reading high, but the engine temp. isn't actually high.

Lastly - Mike K. - just because yours runs at 180 with underdrives does not imply that underdrives can't cause overheating issues. On many cars - especially in climates warmer than Canada - slowing down the water pump and factory fan at idle causes overheating issues. It's great that yours work fine - but concluding that because they work in your application, they'll work in everyone's is misguided.

 

[88GTtom]

its a false reading, i had the same problem, its cause of the volts meter going down, i thought my alternator was bad, so i got a new one, 130 amp one, and same problems started occuring, when my volts meter droped below 13 volts it started to rise. i dident know what the hell was going on, so i double grounded my battery, i grounded it to the headlight groung right in front of the battery and waalaaa. perfect readings. try it i bet it works