Looking for tips
I must preface that I really do not think this is a major problem, because last Saturday I drove 250Km with the GAZ and it performed excellently on motorways too. And it probably is no different than it has been for many years. Nonetheless I am not easy about the temperature gauge: it sits above 80 degrees far longer than I would want. You will know that the gauge is funnily graded so that it is difficult to estimate by how many degrees I am above 80. Basically the needle tends to sit in the middle (vertical) whereas 80 is off centre to the left. It never goes too high like near 100 or so and the light of the temperature sender on the radiator never comes on (I know it works). The Thermostat does open because I can feel the pipe going to the radiator at the top being hot. The water pump was changed last September and these observations are really no different to what I have been seeing for years. I have changed the gauge itself and I am going to do it again once I get a second one. I could of course take the radiator off and have it checked, flushed. or re-cored. But BEFORE I do anything as hard-core as that, what else can I try to understand what the issue might be? I would add that from the outside the radiator looks to be in excellent conditions and the spark plugs are chocolate-brown so there isn't an issue of running lean.
Temperature
Moderators: Charlesm, KarlJ, zoltan
Re: Temperature
I never worried about this until recently when a couple of our Dutch friends 
posted videos of their driving along at (insane) speed and I could see the needle of their gauge obviously BELOW 80. The Thermostat should open around 72 or78 I forget which so a reading of 80 is normal given how imprecise the gauge is.
posted videos of their driving along at (insane) speed and I could see the needle of their gauge obviously BELOW 80. The Thermostat should open around 72 or78 I forget which so a reading of 80 is normal given how imprecise the gauge is.Re: Temperature
Firslty maybe the sender or guage is out, I'd get a modern temp sender and check what the temperature actually is. If it's above 80, then reverse flush the entire system, could be a blocked rad or heat exchanger (does the blower get warm, does it have one?). I don't know the fan setup but it could be the vicous fan coupling has failed also (if it has one) (Landy experience no Gaz 69 experience btw).