Sort of typically the vans's with 1.9L engines would run with the needle below or on the bottom edge the LED. The vans with 2.1L tend to run with the needle on the upper side of the LED. I had a lot of heartburn over that change when I sold my 85GL with the 1.9L, and got my '88GL with the 2.1L. And yes, the fans do come on more often. I completely flushed my system, put in new coolant, replaced the expansion tank cap, and installed a new thermostat. I did find that the thermostat was having a few problems. After all that, there was no change in where the needle stayed when the engine was warm, but I knew the coolant was going where it belonged.

John Rodgers
'88GL Driver

"Buettner, Peter" wrote:

 My van is still running hot and I'm running out of ideas.  Here's what happened.  The temp gauge needle was always positioned just below the LED since I bought the van.  Sometime in August ist started climbing up to just above the LED.  I think something must have changed/broken in the system an I start trouble shooting.  What I did so far:Changed coolant and bled system.Changed radiator, bled system.Changed thermostat, bled system.Changed water pump, bled system.Nothing I did had an effect on the position of the needle.  I don't think it's the temp sender because the radiator fan is also coming on more frequently.  It looks like the coolant actually gets warmer than usual.  I'll replace the sender anyway, just to be sure. At this point I have no idea what else to try.  Please let me know if there is anything I have missed.Thanks,Peter