My dad has a low milege (54k) black/black 96 Mark VIII. It runs really cool on the freeway (below M) but around town it goes above M a lot. I know that's still the "normal range" but my Mark VIII never goes above the middle of the gauge. There were some air pockets in the cooling system when my dad 1st got the car a few months ago but I don't believe there are any anymore. I think the water pump and thermostat are still the stock ones, thinking about replacing them with a 99 Cobra water pump and 180 degree thermosat do you guys think that will help it run cooler around town?

My dad has a low milege (54k) black/black 96 Mark VIII. It runs really cool on the freeway (below M) but around town it goes above M a lot. I know that's still the "normal range" but my Mark VIII never goes above the middle of the gauge. There were some air pockets in the cooling system when my dad 1st got the car a few months ago but I don't believe there are any anymore. I think the water pump and thermostat are still the stock ones, thinking about replacing them with a 99 Cobra water pump and 180 degree thermosat do you guys think that will help it run cooler around town?
have you checked to see if the fan is working properly?freeway driving allows enough air to circulate threw the radiator,but intown driving dosent.

As far as I can tell the fan is working fine. Is there anyway I can get the fan to turn on earlier without getting a chip? Also, all the hoses and radiator are in good shape.

try a t stat first and go from there. its the cheapest place to start.

OK so I've driven the car a lot more now and it seems like the fan only turns on when the AC is turned on. It was a hot day today and I turned on the AC, when I got home I left the engine running and sure enough the fan was working. I turned off the AC and motor and turned it back on right away so it should have been the same temp wise and the electric fan wasn't working. What can be causing this? I hope I don't need a new electric fan for the 96...

Bad VCRM.