Normal cooling temp
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Lionized
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195 - 220° for newer vehicles.
180° or so for our old Mopars.
aeon280
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B,RB,LA motors range around 170-195. Some modern engines seem to run as high as 215 under normal conditions but can do this due to knock sensors and modern electronic timing and injection. Get an older motor over 200 and bad things start to happen.
aeon280
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Hard to say without more info. Under what conditions are you taking the measurement, car sitting in garage idling, just finished driving 20 miles in stop n go traffic, just got off highway and sitting on the side of the road? Other things to consider would be cooling system components, flex fan, clutched fan, electric fans, with or without shroud, thermostat rating etc.. Sounds like your on the high side of the range but need more info to determine if thats a problem.
dual fours
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I think the important number to start with would be Ambient temperature?
pjm8047
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Outdoor temp 90 . After stop and go traffic with a flex fan and and pusher too
Interesting discussion as I've been hassling with the temp on my built up poly. It had been running 215-220. Found an original shroud and 7 blade fan that helped but still running 200 or more. Added some stuff to coolant purported to help lower temp but if it worked it was not much so far. Reduced the mix of anti-freeze that is also supposed to help. Well motor is bored over.60 and has a mild cam with some advanced timing so afraid I have to dump the original two core and get a 3 or 4. Anyway, what's been posted for older engine temp's is what I've found to be correct.
My old 383 used to stay 190 even on 95* days in stop and go traffic.
This 440 I just installed ran up to 205* at the good guys show last week , near 100* with bumper to bumper slow azz crawl through the fair grounds.
Same aluminum 2 row cross flow radiator & shroud same fixed 7 blade mopar fan. same water pump. 160 thermostat in both, may be the extra 60 cubes or timing ?
Im ok with the 200 range in slow traffic but I don't want much more lol.
This 440 I just installed ran up to 205* at the good guys show last week , near 100* with bumper to bumper slow azz crawl through the fair grounds.
Same aluminum 2 row cross flow radiator & shroud same fixed 7 blade mopar fan. same water pump. 160 thermostat in both, may be the extra 60 cubes or timing ?
Im ok with the 200 range in slow traffic but I don't want much more lol.
Lionized
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I had some serious trouble early on with my Super Bee. Could watch the temp. gauge crawl up in traffic on warm (not hot) days. Not enough to overheat but certainly enough to boil the fuel/vapor lock. Went through the usual culprits; thermostat, coolant mix, hoses and good belt tension. The car has no power options so it's just the one belt. Fixed blade fan (7) and shroud running a 180* thermostat. I finally tracked it down to being the crank pulley. Out of the three pulleys on the engine it's the only non-original piece...and it's under-drive.
Ranger16
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180-190, maybe 195 in the worst conditions, but never reaches 200 anymore. This with a 7 blade direct drive OEM fan and radiator, 180° thermostat and a shroud on a 383.
aeon280
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Based on those conditions you are right were you should be. I would suggest a shroud and a thermostat though. The additions of the shroud should get you back down under 190 especially in stop and go situations. Unless your car is race car only you should definitely run a thermostat its an integral part of the cooling system and aids in getting the engine up to optimal operating conditions during cold starts. Most modern replacement thermostats also are designed to fail open so the risk of a bad thermo causing overheating are almost eliminated.
I need to install an actual temp gauge. I'm more comfortable with the Glen ray Rad, but rely on the factory temp gauge. Did anyone ever figure out what the middle location on the 68-70 square gauge actually is as far as temp?
I have both the stock dash and mechanical under dash temp gauges. I've noticed that the dash gauge has hysteresis going hot to cold.
In other words, the rate of change from higher temperatures to lower is very slow on the dash gauge.
For example idling at a long red light on a 104F day my mechanical gauge will read a tick over 195 and the dash gauge will be almost 3/4 hot. Light turns green and within 30 seconds the mechanical gauge shows 180, but the dash gauge doesn't move for another minute, or so.
It could be just my situation, but I recall my charger was similar.
In other words, the rate of change from higher temperatures to lower is very slow on the dash gauge.
For example idling at a long red light on a 104F day my mechanical gauge will read a tick over 195 and the dash gauge will be almost 3/4 hot. Light turns green and within 30 seconds the mechanical gauge shows 180, but the dash gauge doesn't move for another minute, or so.
It could be just my situation, but I recall my charger was similar.
I assume the third line on the factory gauge is around 195*
I was comparing my dash gauge line readout with a laser thermo and find the old gauge seems pretty close. By this I mean before my rebuild the gauge never went halfway and now it tips close to 3/4's finding the motor temp around 200 or so...
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