My temp gauge in the dash is pointing past the extreme. I can't tell if my car is running hot or what, because the temp gauge is not working right. Sometimes when I finish driving, and I open the hood there is a very small amount of smoke. I bought the 89 V8 305 TPI for $750. I'm thinking the oringinal owner could have damaged the temp gauge so the buyer couldn't tell if the car was running hot. What should I do? I mean is a small amount of smoke a rare occurance?, the car does have 160k miles. Of course I should replace the temp gauge, but should I do something else first?

 

its not the guage, its the sending unit on the drivers side head

 

My 89 also has this problem. The needle is pointing beyond stright up wether the car is on or off. I believe my brother was told the whole dash had to be removed to fix this. IS that not true? Is there just a simple fix it that can be done?

 

its only a sending unit, honestly. its on the drivers side head. the part is like 10 bucks, i would try that first since its usually the easy fix

 

I AGREE, THE SENDING UNIT WILL CAUSE THAT, DEFINATELY TRY THAT FIRST BEFORE GOING TO THE EXTREME OF TEARING IT APART.