Alright, so after the head gasket change everything runs fine (ish). I have had no further luck with bleeding the coolant, but every once in awhile I can take off the coolant cap and the level will have dropped 1/4 to 1/2 an inch. This should be alright as I don't notice any leaks or coolant in the oil and the dipstick in the reservoir has been gradually rising closer to the full line.

However now to the problem. When driving the car I notice the gauge jumps up to 140 within 1-2 minutes. From there.... While idling it will hit 160 within 10-15 seconds and 180 within 30 sec-1 min. However at speeds of 40+ it stays just over 140 and will drop to that point from 180 in just a few moments.

I'm aware that the car will heat up quicker while idling but I was just wondering if this seems a tad odd to anyone. Could a little air in the system cause this, or is it possible that it's a sensor I have yet to replace?

Side note, I do have a small exhaust leak under the hood (a stud broke on the pass. exhaust manifold and I was unable to drill it out at the time). So far all I've noticed is that it effects my gas mileage (damn O2 has to be right there). I figured the leak may warm things up a bit, just not sure it would have this big of an effect.

Thanks ahead of time,
Greg

 

Part of the problem with the 93 coolant gauge is that they appear to have mislabeled the lowest mark as 100*. In all the other years, that line is labeled 160*F.

Courtesy of Shoebox:

http://shbox.com/1/temp_gauges1.jpg

If I understand you correctly, from a cold start, the coolant temp indicated on the dash gauge reaches 180*F on about 1 minute or less. Could be a problem with the coolant temp sensor in the head, or the thermostat could be sticking closed.

 

Air pockets can also cause erratic gauge readings. You say the level in the remove reservoir is rising and that the radiator is sometimes a little low. This may indicate that the coolant is not able to be pulled back into the radiator during cool down. If the hose from the radiator to the reservoir has a hole in it, this could happen.

 

Checking for holes or worn hoses now, and that sensor may have been damaged while it was out of the head, so I may just replace it (cheap anyway), however the thermostat was replaced a few hundred miles before the head gasket change, and worked fine then (granted the car has been sitting for a few months but...). Thanks for the ideas guys. Oh and for clarification, from a cold start, if I'm driving it the gauge only reaches the 140 mark in less than a minute, but just letting it sit it will reach 180 within a minute or 2. Going by the numbers on the gauge at any rate >.<