yep, my stock gauge always runs hot, the other is fairly accurate, id say get worried when it nears 95deg as they tend to heat soak a bit around that temp (with stock radiators) and go up quick from there,

dont always trust your nearly 30 year old dash instruments either. i found with one ute i own the gauges were off by a bit so i thought it was always over heating. id by a aftermarket temp gauge and check its temp. the a series should be around 82 to 95 degrees depnding on where you live ect ect.

if it doesnt boil its not too hot
too cold can be a problem too
dont believe any gauge in any car
they are only good for a day to day comparison
point a heat gun at top tank and t/stat housing

mine runs above half but below 3/4

I know the radiator is good, it kept anges rotor cool too.

My addition temp gauge says 190f on the freeway with the lights on, so im happy with that, if it creeps over 3/4 in hot weather i know its sitting at 200f or almost 210f according to gauge and thats when i watch it like a speed camera operator.

Another way to test is to remove the thermostat & go for a drive. If the damn thing won't warm up then you know the cause.

Also how do you know your guage is working correctly? Get hold of a infa red handheld temp gun or install a good quality aftermarket guage if you still have your problem.

yeah thanx lads radiator like new so may try to change the thermo

Within a needle width of the center mark & it's in the zone.
If it's running at more than the 3/4 mark, then replace the thermostat with one known to be good, &/or check the temp guage sender unit. Repco [& others] still list them.

This presumes that you KNOW that the radiator is clean both inside & out & flows coolant as per the factory spec. for that radiator.

mine runs just over half and i think this is too hot but i dont know

hey lads got an a12 and 4 speed in my ute with 32/36 extractors and exhaust . how hot should it run? ive replaced the standard radiator with one out of a sunny(a12) in excellent nick same as original run with coolant and it still runs just below the two hot lines in the temp gauge 24/7
is this right?
how hot does urs run?