|
"...but is there any way to determine if the engine is overheating WITHOUT relying on the temperature gauge inside the car?"
I use a digital temperature gauge, which has a tiny thermocouple on a 10' wire. I can sneak the thermocouple under the radiator hose at the top radiator nipple and tighten the clamp, and it doesn't leak. This gives me a reliable, independant temperature reading.
Sorry, I know that doesn't really help you.
"...the needle was going right into the red..."
Two things come to mind. First, a bad voltage regulator on the instrument cluster would cause this. I do NOT know the configuration of a VR on a pre-'82 car. That is, I don't know if your car has the solid state VR as do my '82 cars.
Second, a bad wire to the temperature sensor will definately cause this. The insulation crumbles off the wire (yellow, I think) and the conductors touch the engine block. The wire usually fails somewhere buried under the intake manifold -- it might be easier to simply splice in a new wire from the large connector at the fire wall and at the sensor.
Here's a test: The next time the temp appears to peg, turn on the heater full hotm full blower. If your engine is truly overheating, this will drop the actual temperature and the gauge should drop. If it doesn't drop, then it's a false reading.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)
|
