[johnnymac]

Greetings,
I have been a member for awhile now and I am impressed with all of the innovative people and all of the great info. I just purchased a 1999 Escort 2.0 5 speed. My odometer reads 208K, and it runs and drives great. I am getting about 39 MPG with it. I had an Echo, and other Escorts before that.

I am going to install a grille block and want to know what is a good safe temp to run at. It has a scangauge II and it shows the car has been operating at about 197 degrees most of the time. + or - a few degrees. Usually 197.
I have read escorts can get hot, overheated, and drop a valve seat. I saw a old escort in the bone yard with a hole through the upper front of #4 cylinder and now I know why.

I'm running my tires at 42 psi, I have Goodyear Vivas in the front (44max)and Primewells in the back (40 max), all in very good condition so I'll run what I have for now. I want to make skirts, add a grille block and a warm air intake. She is a beaut but the scangauge does not come on when I first start up.

Thanks to all,
John