2002 Normal Operating Temperature?

[Sirius]

Does anybody know what the normal operating temperature should be for a 2002 Grand Am SE?

Since I got the car last week it has averaged 200 on the temperature guage. That has been for both city & highway driving. Today, while in traffic, it bumped up a couple ticks above 200.

The guage itself goes from 100 - 260 on this car. With the car hanging at 200 all the time that's past halfway to over heating. If that's normal I'll learn to live with it, but I'd be more comfortable if the car hovered between the 180-200 mark.

Let me know if this is something that should be brought to the dealer's attention. It already has an appointment coming up for the CD player not working.

Thanks!

[Y2KGAGT]

Mine sits at 200. :)

[AlDiaz2331]

Here's a very good tip, get the hypertech 180 degree thermostat for your car. the normal temp is around 200 but if you consistently let it overheat it may affect things such as your intake gasket which has been a problem because of elements in the gasket that will actually cause it to go bad if not taken care of with some "preventative" maintenance. By getting the thermostat it will turn on the cooling system sooner which will prevent higher temperatures while still keeping economy. It's a little bit of a pain to change though, if you have any questions you can email me. Hope that helps, get if from pfyc.com/grandam

[Spoonya]

Yeah it seems to be normal. Mine's pretty high in stop and go traffic.

I heard changing the thermo temp to 180 isn't good for the other components of the car.......what about the computer?

So what are the implications if the changeover is done, and how much would that cost?

[AlDiaz2331]

Changing the 195 degree thermostat which is the stock thermostat to a 180 degree stat isn't going to impact any other components on the car, even the computer. NOW if you changed down to a 160 then there would be problems with the fuel air mixture and you would get horrific mileage and some other components would get higher wear on them. I have a leak in my intake gasket on my 3400 and this thermostat stopped that leak by not allowing the car to get to that 210 degree temp that would cause coolant to start seeming from my intake. That's for my car however, others could vary. I stopped my leak. The car just runs around 190-195 with the 180 degree stat in there. It's not keeping the car at 180. That temperature range is within normal operating temperature. That's an 11 dollar fix plus 6 for shipping that fixed my 800 dollar repair that i don't need to get just yet. I don't exactly have the money either. It's preventative maintenance, and you could see a cooler engine have a bit more pop to it....I have. If you're savy you can change the stat yourself, otherwise it could cost i guess an hours labor, but it takes me like 20 mins now, hehe done it twice. :)

[OhioGrandAm]

Mine sits normaly sits around 200 or a little past but that about it.

[Godly 1]

My 2 cents... Flush your engine and run a Synthetic oil. I did that and my temp is running below 200. And that is with heavy footed me at the wheel... Royal Purple is what I am running, but I have heard good things about Mobil 1 too...

Godly 1