I have read many forums and done research but have not been able to pinpoint the issue or found a similar post.

I recently just finished installing my rebuilt engine. Everything is OEM -- hoses, bolts, sensors, etc. and I did an erg and air injection delete. This was done at my friends shop who rebuilds 22r/e for a living. My issue is this, my temp gauge does not stay consistently at one temp setting. Is that normal? I drove the truck up on ramps while on an incline and burped the radiator for a long time roughly 30 minutes. I read before my first start up that these are hard to get rid of air so I wanted to "do it once and be done". However, while driving my temp gauge fluctuates from 1/4 to just under 1/2. Doesn't matter if I'm driving slow or fast (only 100ish miles on rebuild, babying it still). If I come to a stop and I'm just idling then the gauge usually sits back down to 1/4 but randomly will slowly go up and down. But typically stays towards the 1/2 way point while driving. Typically stays toward 1/4 while idling or at a stop after driving. Could this be from the egr delete/air injection delete? The movement down and up is not a quick jerk up or down, it moves slowly. The thermostat is a factory Toyota along with rubber seal. I literally went on a two hour drive yesterday and the temp gauge fluctuated the entire time. Before the rebuild it never did that. Literally sat at 1/4 like a fat lazy dog on the porch.

Two symptoms that are new which I have noticed (no idea if related to above issue but just giving all info I have) is that my high beam light on my dash is really dim and delayed when I turn the high beams on. Aftermarket LED headlights with relay harness. I do not remember the high beam light being dim and delayed before the rebuild.

Also my throttle stays on "high" idle sometimes. If I'm driving and come to a stop I notice that it is idling high so I step on the gas and release the pedal then it idles back down to normal. I have done research on that and it could be the dash pot? When I'm at the engine bay I have been able to mimic the issue and noticed that the dash pot does not go "back" all the way allowing the throttle body to fully return back. So I push the throttle "circle thing" (sorry about the improper identifiers) back to push the dash pot "valve stem" down allowing the throttle to fully return back.

Could this be a wiring issue? Bad sensor even though they are new? Just drive it more to get the little bit of air out? Switch to two stage thermostat?

If anyone can give me any advice on what I need to check out would be really thankful.

 

Do you have an OBDII reader? If you do, you can read the actual temp the sensor to the gauge is sending while the gauge is fluctuating. If the sensor is sending a constant signal, the gauge may have a little dirt or corrosion on it. Or the pins of the cable feeding the gauge set. If the sensor's signal is fluctuating to match the gauge's, is the sensor that feeds the ECU have the same fluctuations? If it does, I would look at that fast idle problem. Could the idle being high be causing the engine to run warmer than when the idle is low?
Quite often, the dash pot just needs a good cleaning out to function correctly. Also, if the throttle plate is what's actually sticking, often a short shot of WD-40, or similar, to both sides of where the throttle plate attaches to the TB, will solve the problem entirely. With the large air intake hose off the TB, the throttle plate is very visible in the TB.

As to the high beam warning lamp: Often, with replacing the headlights with LEDs, there's not enough current flow to light the warning light properly. You can replace the warning light bulb with an LED, which is the best thing to do. I'm not sure exactly which one you need, but you can check SuperbrightLEDS dot com to match the number called out for in the parts catalogs for the regular bulb.
Alternatively, you can get a resistor to put inline in the wire feeding the gauge set for the highbeam indicator lamp. This will cause a high enough current flow to light the bulb normally, without affecting the headlights. I'm not sure just exactly what resistor, but again, Google is your friend. I read somewhere about a resistor for a mororcycle that would do the trick, but I can't find it now...

I hope something in all my rambling is some help...
Pat☺

 

i don't think an '88 will connect to an obdii reader