First let me say I really enjoy this forum a great deal. I purchased my 2005 SSR three weeks ago and the information I picked up from this forum helped me make an informed purchase decision. I have not had any problems so far ( only 1000 miles) other than some of the known quirks, no big deal. I just want to throw something out for discussion regarding the coolant temp. issue. I had a 1998 motorhome with a Chevy 454 chassis that I bought new and had almost identical issues with the temp. gauge as we do with the SSR. On the highway it ran at 195 degrees but in stop and go traffic it would creep up to 230. It was very unnerving to be in rush hour traffic wondering if it would overheat or not (by the way it never did overheat). We tried everything to correct it, thermostat,temp sensors, fan motors, air dams, you name it, really no difference. We even tried a misting system on the radiator just to see if that would help, no luck. The engine never overheated and really did not seem like it was running that hot. We installed a second temp gauge and located the sensor in the intake manifold water jacket. The factory sensor is in the cylinder head. We noticed that this gauge never moved off of 195-200 degrees no mater what the driving conditions. It indicated the cooling system was working perfectly. We blocked airflow to make sure temp. went up and hosed down radiator to make sure it dropped a little to verify the system was responding to conditions and it was. The conclusion was that every vehicle has different air flow patterns under the hood and on this vehicle air flow over the exhaust manifold and cylinder head was inadequate at low speed causing the temp. in the cylinder head where the sensor was located to creep up. The engine was not running hot just the cylinder head temp. A significant portion of engine cooling still comes from airflow across the engine block. I certainly felt more confident driving this vehicle after identifing the source of the problem. I just wonder if the SSR might be experiencing a similar situation since it really does not seem all that hot even though the temp gauge reads 230. I hope if I get some time this winter to investigate further. Until then I am not going to worry to much about the temp. gauge creeping up in traffic, it really does't seem like it is that hot. I would welcome any thoughts on this theory. Sorry about the long post, sometimes I tend to ramble on.
Dave
Dave
