1.6D cooling/parts questions

[masterbeavis]

So my caddy is on the road again, after at least 6! years of retirement. It appears I decided it needed a 180 thermostat, so a new Whaler 180 tstat is in it now. Fan switch activates fan at 210* and shuts off at 205.  Temperatures obtained with an auto meter gauge and confirmed with an IR thermometer.

Facts about the truck as I know themafter 180 miles of experience with the truck.
1. Truck will stay at 180 in nice weather, moderate in town driving.
2. If left to idle, temp will go to 210 and stay there until you drive the car.
3. Freeway driving during the day brings the temps to 195 (85-90*  temps)
4. Hills push the temps quickly to 210-215* or higher, I've not climbed a hill longer than 2-3 miles long yet.
5. No smoke out the exhaust
6. Shroud installed, rubber flaps will be reinstalled once I find them
7. AC condenser is clear, find are unobstructed.

Parts situation:
Lower mileage 1.6D crate engine
AC equipped vehicle, non functioning, all equipment present
New Thermostat (whaler)
Newer fan switch(low hours from a formerly running but abandoned project)
Rodded out all brass radiator, excellent condition
Good used stamped steel impeller water pump (30mm hub, 96 2.0, pulley from mid 80's Jetta diesel)
New belts, properly tensioned
All new hoses, coolant resevor, cap

So my issues/questions are: 
Is it bad to have a 30* swing on my operating temperature?

Is my setup ok as is and just get over it? It bothers me having such a wide sweep of temperatures.

Change thermostat to a 195 unit because that's what is factory and what the truck wants to run at on the highway

Are cast impeller water pumps superior to the stamped steel units?  I plan on changing it to a cast unit once I get my pulley situation refigured out for another pump.

Put in a lower temp switch to turn the fan on at a lower temp?

[burn_your_money]

I don't think I'd worry about it. It's not overcooling or overheating.

[rallydiesel]

Agreed. If it really bothers you, you could install an air-cooled oil cooler. It will help a lot on high load situations like long hills. The stock coolant oil cooler is pretty pathetic.

[masterbeavis]

I forgot to mention I did add the factory water to oil cooler to the system. Future upgrades do include an air to oil cooler on a thermostat

[burn_your_money]

Many vehicles have a dead spot on the temp gauges so that the needle sits in one place, while in reality the temp is swinging 20-30 degrees.

[masterbeavis]

Many vehicles have a dead spot on the temp gauges so that the needle sits in one place, while in reality the temp is swinging 20-30 degrees.

To keep people from going to the dealer and complaining about this exact same thing?

[745 turbogreasel]

Or so we can freak out when it quits working....
FWIW, GM doesn't even kick the fans on till 230F
Ducting is hugely important.  i got an RV that couldn't maintain over 35 on a hot day on flat ground.  I kept cutting and screwing plywood till I was crushing the hills at 65(32 footer w/454 & 3 gears)
A small front lip might help both radiator airflow and economy....a strip of tire works well.
A pressure test or very thoro leak inspection might be good too.

[R.O.R-2.0]

my diesels ALWAYS get warmer when going up hills..

the gauge always climbs a mark or 2 on my mk2 gauge..

[vanbcguy]

Same on my Mk III - if I'm going up some of the steeper mountain passes here in BC I'll basically have the pedal close to the floor for a couple of minutes, and the temp will get to about 2/3 of the way up.  Never past 3/4 even on the hottest days though.  And that's with my ginormous AWIC rad up in front of my actual engine radiator.

[masterbeavis]

If I am not careful, I can hit 250 or more on the gauge. My Ol lady did it on the first hills she tried climbing. I bet she was winding it up tight too, she said she had it up to 65, which takes a lot of time and RPM. I find it will hover around 210 if I slow down and not keep my foot all the way down, just say 7/8 pedal and keep the RPM out of the stratosphere, it won't get any hotter. It's slow, I can count reflectors in alligators.

I've talked to other local diesel owners, they are saying I should be able to run my truck on an average day till the thing runs out of fuel and never need the fan. Also some are claiming I should retard my timing so I can get more fuel and some smoke. I don't have any pinging that I'm aware of.

I tried a hill start today on a significantly steep hill. Once I got rolling, the truck was moments away from stalling for at least 45 seconds. A sanfransisco car this is not. I did not get any smoke either.

The pump I'm using came off a 1.5, and has not been touched aside from the initial timing set.

[vanbcguy]

If I am not careful, I can hit 250 or more on the gauge. My Ol lady did it on the first hills she tried climbing. I bet she was winding it up tight too, she said she had it up to 65, which takes a lot of time and RPM. I find it will hover around 210 if I slow down and not keep my foot all the way down, just say 7/8 pedal and keep the RPM out of the stratosphere, it won't get any hotter. It's slow, I can count reflectors in alligators.

I've talked to other local diesel owners, they are saying I should be able to run my truck on an average day till the thing runs out of fuel and never need the fan. Also some are claiming I should retard my timing so I can get more fuel and some smoke. I don't have any pinging that I'm aware of.

I tried a hill start today on a significantly steep hill. Once I got rolling, the truck was moments away from stalling for at least 45 seconds. A sanfransisco car this is not. I did not get any smoke either.

The pump I'm using came off a 1.5, and has not been touched aside from the initial timing set.

With regards to the temperature, are you sure the gauge is accurate?  Are you seeing any pressure buildup in the cooling system?  Any idea what condition the cooling system is in - any chance there's sludge built up in the radiator?

On the low power thing - if you have no smoke whatsoever, you probably can stand to add some fuel.  Check out the 'Make your 1.6NA a fast car' thread (or really any of the "make your XYZ a fast car" threads, though no turbo rules out a lot of the fun).  I wouldn't mess with the timing personally unless you have a really good reason to do so.  You can turn up the fuel screw quite easily, but I would get the cooling issue sorted first.  Good chance someone turned down the fuel because of the overheating in the past thinking it would help.  More fuel = more heat, so the first issue needs to be solved before messing with the second.

[masterbeavis]

Radiator was rodded out and given a clean bill of health. Water pump is a stamped steel impeller unit. All hoses are new. Crud at the bottom of the block was flushed twice till the water was reasonably clear.   The injection pump was put on this engine about 800 miles ago when I had it out for new gaskets and a paint job. Prior to that, I have no history on this motor. I put the pump on, IRC set the timing for "economy". I need to go out and see where exactly where it's at and tinker from there.