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  1. #1

    Default New owner of 83 Tbird w/ 3.8 and help with cooling system temp

    I am new to owning and working on a fox body vehicle and need help with how to fix some issues.

    The 83 Tbird i has a carbureted 3.8 v6 that was said to have overheating issues supposedly with the water pump, i wanted to run it for awhile to see if it is leaking at all from the pump or anywhere else and to see if is thermostat but i noticed there is no temp gauge so how would i know when it starts to overheat if it actually does at all besides steam coming out of the radiator?

  2. #2
    FEP Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Grand Rapids, MI
    Posts
    721

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    I would start by installing a real temperature gauge so you can see what your running temps are. It doesn't have to be a permanent installation. You can just leave the gauge loose in the passenger compartment if you'd like. Even if you had a factory temp gauge (thanks Ford) I wouldn't trust it fully. Start there and see what you get.
    '89 XR-7 5 Speed
    '95 SC 5 Speed
    '91 Crown Vic P72 351W
    '97 Thunderbird
    '85 Ford LTD Squire

  3. #3

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    This is an old thread but i wanted to chime in on this since i have an 83 tbird and in case someone stumbles on this looking for what to do.
    The 83 has a light on the dash to indicate if you were overheating, i dont recall the exact temp that triggers it off hand but the temp sensor is just a trigger for this light.
    What i bought, but have yet to getting around to installing, to bring piece of mind on running temps was an aluminum hose "T" to put inline of the radiator hose and you can install a temp sender for a gauge in it. The hole for a sender on mine is pretty small though but the sender on the digital gauge kit thing i picked up for this is also.

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