Jason,
A temp of 212 is a high. You should be running at 180-190 unless you're in
stop-and-go traffic on a hot day. A couple of thoughts. Even if it's new,
I'd check the thermostat. First, pull the thermostat and set it in a pan of
water that's at about 150 degrees on the stovetop (use your wife's candy
thermometer or go buy one - they're cheap). Keep the pan on the burner and
watch as the temp rises to 165+. You should see the thermostat opening.Now,
once you get a working thermostat and you know at what temp it opens, put
it back in the car and drive it for a while. The temp should rise to the
temp that the 'stat opens, then it should level off as the coolant from the
radiator is allowed into the system. After this, the temps should rise to
an equilibrium hopefully somewhere south of boiling, and ideally 180-190. A
significant variation from this scenario (rise to 'stat opening, plateau,
further rise to equilibrium) would suggest to me that you're not getting
good coolant flow. Possibly a passageway is clogged or the radiator needs
to be re-cored. In my limited experience, a single flush is not good
enough.
The above assumes that the engine is producing a normal level of heat but
that the cooling system is not handling it. However, it may be that the
cooling system is fine, but the engine is making too much heat. An obvious
place to look is ignition timing. Usually if it's too advanced you'll make
excessive heat. Another area is mixture. Too lean and you make heat.
Good luck and keep us abreast.
Jeff
Jeffrey H. Boatright, PhD
Senior Editor, Molecular Vision
http://www.molvis.org/molvis
"Seeing the Future in a Very Tiny Way"
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