MK IV Astra - Engine Temperature Questions

[HaX]

Hi there,

I have a strange problem, which may not even be a problem, I just need it confirming.

When driving at speed (60/70 MPH), the temperature gauge needle hardly appears to move, even when I've been driving the car for over 20 minutes.

If I leave the car stationary for a while the temp gauge gradually moves up to about mid way(90 c) and after a few more minutes the radiator fan will start.

Similarly in slow moving traffic the temp gauge will creep up a 1/5 of the way across to about 80 c, but as soon as I'm moving quickly again - eg a 60/70 road the temp will go down again..

I thought that initially the problem may have been due to the wrong Coolant being used (blue coolant), so I had the engine flushed and the correct (pink) coolant used. However, this has made no difference.

Is this normal, or is there something wrong with the engine/coolant system?

I have topped up my coolant to just above the mark in the header tank, however I am worried that I may have overfilled it a little. Is this likely to cause problems, or is there an overflow system to cater for these situations?

Cheers

HaX

 

[HaX]

So...

From what you've said I take it there is a thermostat which dictates whether cool water from the radiator is used to cool the engine, or whether the water is recirculated via the header tank?

If this is nackered, how much am I looking at it costing to replace? Is this something somewhere like Tanvic could deal with, or would I be better going else where?

Cheers

HaX