how hot is too hot for metro?

[SirKeats]

so after reading up on metrompg i decided to try the grill block cover.

before, my temp gauge normally registered at (roughly) the 1/4 position.

based on a short trip this evening (need to to some more testing obviously) it was registering a bit past the half-way position.

obviously you're in trouble when it hit's the red "h" section... but i'm just curious what too hot of a normal operating temperature is.

i'm not interested in going to such extremes for mpg's that i wind up damaging my engine... so i don't mind pulling the grill-block if running warm-hot is going to cause harm.

thanks for the info!!

[Coyote X]

you probably have a 160 degree thermostat if it only gets to 1/4

Go find a 195 thermostat and it will always be at the halfway mark. I have a 95C (~203F) thermostat in mine right now and it stays right around the halfway mark if not a tiny bit over halfway. A small opening about 2 inches high by 5 wide in front of the radiator is plenty to keep the fan from having to kick on at speeds over 35mph.

lower front air dam added to the bumper will make as big an improvement as the grille block if you haven't added anything underbody to smooth the air flow.

[Johnny Mullet]

Every Metro I know of the temp gauge rides at dead center at all times. You might have a problem with the T-stat.

[SirKeats]

so what you're saying is that so long as my fan isn't coming on all the time... the gauge at the half way mark or just a bit past the half way mark is okay?

i'll keep tabs on the fan and may add the cut out for the radiator anyway just for good measure.

[metromizer]

You might want to check that thermostat as well. Make sure someone didn't remove it. Beside the obvious (helps get the engine up to operating temp quicker for better FE) thermostats act as a controlled restriction in the cooling system. They actually slow the the coolant flow for better heat transfer on a hot day.

[TrikeKid]

Pick up a real temp gauge, then you'll know for sure. A head gasket isn't hard to do, but if you do warp the head then you're into machine costs and all that jazz that is going to far and away negate any fuel savings. I wouldn't trust the stock gauges in almost anything, especially after seeing how my girlfriend's '92 Metro's cluster is (just as an example, the fuel gauge will bottom out before she needs to fill up, the one in my truck is the same way, I'll be on the bottom line of the empty reading and still have 5 gallons in the tank, at my current mpg, that's another 80 miles of driving)