I have a 1995 Ford Ranger 3.0.. The engine started overheating. We replaced the radiator fan, the fan clutch, both sensors, the dashboard temperature guage. It would reach nearly to the H but engine not overheating. So we decided to put an aftermarket temperature guage sensor adapter in the radiator hose & we kept the one on dashboard. The one in radiator has been running at around 190 for a or a month or so. Dashboard was staying on H. No over heating. Yesterday after driving about 15 miles we had to stop & check the manual guage we had to install in the engine compartment. It said 230. We headed back home & the manual guage under the hood now said 260.so I have 2 questions. At 260, did we ruin the engine? And with having bothe temperature guage sensors in use cause engine to overheat? After we added the one under the hood the engine would run rough when first cranked. Thanks for your input.

 

Ypu dont mention addressing the radiator. Fans and gauges for me are a step removed - check radiator first, lift the cap when it's cooled down and look at the bottom side- gunked up? Buy a new radiator cap if it's been 5 years, just do it. Caps can cause huge probs. Look down in the radiator with a penlight- gunk in there? Bad sign but a good sign it's not the water pump or head gasket. Drop some coolant from bottom of radiator into a bucket (find the white plastic petcock passenger side- does it flow right out or just dribble? Thermostat test, start truck cold and after five min- is the upper rad hose hot? if not replace thermostat. I don't know what 260 degrees does. My 2001 got hot recently - went near the H I pulled right over and popped hood - it felt hot but nothing obvious no steam or bubbling sounds- but I knew it was hot so the gauge was right. I block tested it later to see if head gasket was damaged by that heat (block test is a 5 min change of color test, free tool loan at parts store) and it passed- Rangers seem to be undainty with a little overheating, others here will know more. But generally it's heat intensity x time that = damage. If you caught it early like I did - you might be ok. See what your coolant looks like - is it dirty, is the rad blocked up, (gunk under cap is a good indicator) does it hold pressure (another easy parts store loan item) is thermo working? Is the rad obstructed - when cold disconnect bottom rad hose and dump the coolant into a bucket. with that large bottom hose disconnected and aimed into another bucket- dump a gallon of water in the top - does it pour out the bottom quick and free? That will test if its obstructed by corrosion - highly suspect in a 95 did you say? Does the heater blow good hot air? That helps rule out water pump. Maybe you just did not mention all the things you did previously - but gauges and fans are not the first things to address. Is the radiator clean, running clean coolant, passing good flow (unobstructed) and holding pressure? Then thermostat - is the top hose hot? then break out the white board and call in the consultants... Good luck