1999 Alero with 2.4L

Just bought this car last week. Seems to run fantastic. Put on about 500 miles on alredy, with no problems. Except...

The temp guage indicates slightly higher than halfway.

I have owned everything from old muscle cars to family mini vans, and everything in between. Typically a 4 cylinder (like my previous sunbird) would not produce the heat in the cooling system like an good old 350 Chev :evillol: , so I am used to seeing a lower reading on that type of car. Perhaps the 2.4 L with all dem extra valves and packing in all dat horsepower in a small package does run a bit hotter. :lol:

I am a solid "back yard mechanic" and I use the temp guage as more of an indication of where normal operating termperature is.....I have never totally relied on the exact reading of a temperature guage other than an idication of off normal, like overheating.

So now on the Alero, I have watched it closely as I am using it for commuting 45 min to and from work. The temp guage does not indicate anything else eratic and is quite stable at that point. So depending on what the general consenses is of other owners out there, and what their guage normally reads at, I may do some troubleshooting, like check/change thermastat, perhpaps check for air in system (need to find out the process), and other obvious cooling system problems.)

Can anyone else driving an Alero with the 2.4 L be able to share with me, where the temperature guage on their car is usually sitting at when all warmed up good and running normal.

thanks

It should sit right around the middle! But just because it is a little higher it does not necessarily indicate a problem. As long as it is not coming close to red you should be OK.