Normal running engine temperatures

[Misho]

As you know, i have a 1992 cadillac seville STS. its from the age when they started thinking that making everything electronic is cool. its a though that i currently have to pay for in the form of poor reliability, expensive electronic spare parts and the lack of skilled mechanics to deal with these complex electronic systems.

Anyways, i dont have a "normal" always-in-sight engine temperaure gauge. i have to press the information button to check the engine temperature. the average running "coolant" temperature is 100 degrees celsius. and it can be anywhere between 95 and 112. isnt that higher than average ? sure its the Middle East and temperatures are around 45 degrees celsuis during my commute back home from work, but 100 seems too high. ive had the car for 4 years now and that has been the case since day 1.

is that normal? is there a differene between coolant temperature and engine temperature found in most cars' dashboards? is it possible that it has anythign to do with the fact the car was imported from canada and isnt upto midde-eastern specs?

in case you've never heard, most car companies do some minor adjustments to their cars before being shipped to the middle east. this might include increasing the radiator's size to cope with the hot weather or improving the a/c's performance.
it always makes me smile when i see the heated seats control buttons after the car has been parked in the sun all day and the leather seats are actually unbearable !! some people open the doors to ventilate the interior before they can ride with me !

[johnnyperl]

its a little high but i would think still ok.
as far as i know for avg; 190F(=88C)

i dont know where the coolant temp is measured but the radiator can result in a 10F drop.

[car_fiend]

actually... my parents used to have a 92 seville base model. the car would not stop heating up, until it hit like 200 degree F, and then the fans would come on, cool it down to 195, and then shut off. two problems we had were that for some odd reason, the coolant would be pressured out of the coolant bottle cap, since there was air space in the cap.
and secondly when we took it to the mechanic we found out that the head had a small crack in it, but enough to make it leak coolant out of the left side of the engine(while facing the car from the front). well, we got rid of the car cuz the repair and maintainance on that car were horrible, as you well know. hope this post has been of any help to you. just my $.02

[Suka]

My Libra runs at 80 C, although that prob doesn't help at all!

[LotusLocost]

100 degrees celcius does sound a bitt much...
Remember it can result that the head gasket(s) and the head itself goes to hell.....
In my race car i have a working temperature of 80-85 degrees celcius..
Usualy thats low on a racecar, but I use a product from the lubricant producer Red Line, called Water Wetter.. Its amasing... it dropped the temprature on my engien 10 degrees celcius.. You just put the Water Wetter in your cooling system, mixed with water.. It`s a bit hard to explain how it works with my not so good english, but I will try:
You know if you splash water on some kind of metal.. Iron or aluminium..
you will se it forms like a bubbel on the surface.. Dosent make a good conection with the metal...
But when you mix the Water Wetter with the water, it will brake the water-film(?) easyier and the water has a better conection with the metal...
therfor the water has a better effect and cools down yor engien better
It also contains lubricants for your waterpump, so it`s not dangerous to use it on a regular engien.. Not expensive either...
good luck with the problem....
It looks like this: