We need to get some hard gauge reading numbers then. "Fan on with compressor on - engine temp goes way up, and keeps climbing...". "Way up and climbing" isn't considered normal, as long as way up really is way up there. But, what is "way up....and climbing", as far as what the gauge is telling you?

 

There are three actual numbers on the gauge

100 (obviously not important here)
220 (halfway)
260 (all the way)

There is a marker halfway in between 220 and 260, we'll call that 240. Halfway inbetween 240 and 260 - which we'll call 250 - is where the red begins. Normal operating temp is right around 220 - a slight bit higher in the summer while driving locally. A little bit less in the winter, especially while driving on the highway.

"way up there" means right around 250 - right at the beginning of the red. As soon as it hits there, I shut the car off, because I am fearful of it going higher and damage happening. That is where the temp goes when the compressor is on, after about 1 hr while driving locally.

Hopefully that answers the question.

 

sounds more like everything is getting heat soaked and the fan just cant keep up. i would recommend upgrading the fan. a 20+ year old electric motor is a wear item. where do you live, and is anything else done to the car? i think the smallest fan you can get away with is 1200 cfm, but you can always go with a better twin fan setup. you can either wire it directly into the factory wiring for oem controls, or get an independent setup with its own adjustable temp setting and a/c command

 

Ok, I will look into a new fan.

Again, the Haynes manual comes up short. Is the fan easy to replace? Any suggestions, or any resource you can point me to which will help?

Thanks!

 

Depending on what you are looking to do, the fan can be a direct drop in, or a bit of modification is required. If you can confirm the fan just isn't pulling enough air and need a motor replacement then its plug and play. If you decide to go away from your automatic fan swith set up and get an entirely new model of fan you will to do a little bit of work. To me its not hard, just take your time and mount it as close as possible. But, do flush your system if you can.