A few weeks back the temp gauge went all the way up. The car never steamed or boiled up. Replaced the thermostat. Still had the same problem. Replaced water pump, timing belt and fan belt. Still having the same problem. Does anyone have any other ideas on what it can be?

 

Drain your coolant and see what it looks like.

You could have either a blocked radiator or a blocked heater core.

 

you may be a victim of the common temp gauge malfunction.. it seems to be a common problem. and the only way to fix is to fix some electronic component ont he gauge cluster itself..

 

You replaced the thermostat, water pump, timing belt and fan belt, and still you didn't get to the problem. Man, I feel for you. Of course, it's good to know that all those parts are new and shouldn't be giving you any more problems but unless you've got money to burn, I'd be bummed after shelling out all that dough and still be having troubles. I'm wondering if a shop did all that work or what your situation was? If this temp gauge situation is common, then why wouldn't a shop know that and try to solve that problem first, especially since there were none of the classic symptoms of overheating?

I'm not busting your chops; just trying to learn from your situation the next time something goes haywire on my beast. Owning a much-loved vehicle and keeping it on the road often requires more than rounding up the usual suspects when something goes wrong. It requires the insight of a Sherlock Holmes combined with the know-how of a Mr. Goodwrench, along with a bit of good old fashioned luck.

Of course, having a bunch of knowledgeable folks on a forum like this is worth its weight in gold, as well...

As far as things to check, you may want to test your coolant temperature sending unit, the one that feeds your panel indicator. With the key on but the engine not running. Ground the sending unit. If the indicator deflects full scale or the indicator light comes on, then you need to replace the sending unit.

 

yea there is a common problem with the gauge cluster's temp gauge portion. ill try to find threads about it..

 

The antifreeze is still clean as ever, part of me hoping its cluster issue, just don't want to do anymore damage. I really love this SUV. Going to locate a infrared to check temp at certain times on the engine.
I have been researching all forums regarding this issue, and since i'm doing the work myself.
I do draw the line, I don't feel like checking head gasket. I'm more old fashion, my experience with that is oil/antifreeze will mix. And so far those are still separate.

 

Sounds like good news as far as your anti-freeze being sound, because who wants to change a head gasket if they can avoid it? I'd concentrate on the sensor to indicator circuit which you should be able to trace with (relative) ease.

Upthread someone mentioned cleaning out your radiator. That might not be a bad idea even though your coolant looks A-OK, considering the pain-in-the-****/benefit ratio. Sounds like you could even keep the fluid and reuse it after a good flushing. Let us know how it turns out...

 

If the car was actually overheating, it would be very obvious under the hood.

 

I bet you could smell it even before you could see it.

 

That's true. It would smell absolutely horrible.