Hey guys,

As some of you may know I just picked up a 98 T/A M6 a week or so ago. Its been running well, but just today I noticed that it started running kind of hot.

It was about 75 degrees and sunny out today, and after getting off the highway and cruising down a couple back roads, I noticed the temp guage started rising. It went up to 210, then started going back down. Thats the first time its gone that high, the other times I've driven it its stayed at about 180 degrees. It seemed like the car lost some considerable power when the temp went that high as well, and when I drove it later on after it cooled down, it was normal again.

So does anyone know what temperature the stock thermostat is supposed to open at?? 210 seems way too high. And if it is in fact set to go that high, would it be a good idea to switch it out for a 180 degree unit?? I've heard that they can cause problems on some of the newer vehicles though.

I checked my coolant, and it was actually overfull. With the car cool (sat for 30 mins after driving) the dipstick still read above the "HOT" level. The antifreeze also seemed kind of dirty brown, but I think some of that can be contributed to the fact that the Dexcool is orange in color. I'll probably flush and refill the system in the near future just to be on the safe side though.