Summer's Tuning Up & I have a Hot Explorer

[felixxer]

From California's central valley.Mighty toasty come June.
I changed out fan,clutch,H2O pump,radiator & cap,thermostat,coolant temp sensor and new radiator hoses.
There are no lights or codes going off but the truck is STILL running hot. Not in the red hot but much higher than it did prior to the parts change.
I drove the truck for 30 minutes put it back in the garage and after two and a half hours it was still hot under the hood on a 70 degree day.
The temp guage seems to "float" around and I purged air from the cooling system.(elevate front end of truck)
No dice.Still hot.
Although not unheard of perhaps I got a bad thermostat so I will try changing that.
But I did put air hole at 12 o'clock per instructions.
Can it be something other than the engine cooling such as catalytic converters going bad because something is causing a lot of heat in the truck.
My brother is a way above average mechanic and this has him scratching his head.
Me? Maybe below average mechanic but I can still learn.
Everyone's idea is appreciated.
Thanx.
1994 Explorer w/140000 miles.

 

[Rick]

If you can get ahold of a radiator pressure tester, check to see if the system is holding pressure. There are a few spots that may be slightly leaking and if the system won't fully pressurize, it will run hot.

 

[Centaurious]

There are normal duty and heavy duty fan clutches, could you have had a heavy and received a normal duty when replacing? Same with radiators. Factory towing packages include these as heavy duty. If you replaced the coolant temp sensor that may be causing a different reading. The gauge sensor has one wire and the ECU temp sensor has two wires.

 

[larrydd999]

Not a great mechanic but when someone says 'too hot' I ask what the measured temperature really is. Our '92 XLT has always had a high-reading temperature gauge, but when I use a thermal 'gun' while idling hot it compares within a couple of degrees with our '94 Limited (which has a temperature gauge that always reads low) under the same condition. Also, the '92 has one of the all-aluminum radiators, not the OEM style with the plastic ends.

 

[MrQ]

Simple question...what temp thermostat did you buy? Stock is 195, but most people replace it with the 180 as the 4.0 head gaskets are very testy when it comes heat.