I put a 180* thermostat this weekend and she runs great on the highway, but when i get into stop and go traffic she gets up to 260*!! what could be wrong?

 

89,

There are a few possible problems at work causing your high temperatures at low speeds:

1. Poor water pump performance;

2. Inoperative or failing electric fan (brush and commutator wear will cause slow operation and poor air flow);

3. Excessively lean mixture and late spark advance at idle/low RPMs;

4. Your car was never designed to idle in traffic anyway - you need to be moving at about 140MPH whenever you can to promote good air flow (j/k) .

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Later,
Vader
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"Let the bodies hit the floor!"
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Hey Vader, don't you think running that fast is a bit excessive?

 

Did you install it backwards?

 

the thing is it never did this with the old 195* thermostat.....