P reg 406 over heats in traffic but drops to 0 on the motorway?

Question

the engine is very high milage and burning oil but the head gas't seems to be ok due to the oil not being gunky. ideas on what could be causing the problem. if i do a long motorway journey will the engine sease? why does the temp drop to 0 on the motorway??

Answer 1

bad gage.  loose wire  get a good temp gage and check

Answer 2

Could be your fan isnt working when your moving slowly. If the gauge drops to cold when on the motorway it may be that your thermostat has packed up and is permanantly open. This will need replacing.

Answer 3

does the car get really hot due to being stuck in traffic? if so then check to see if your fan(s) come on in the engine compartment. it might just be because either the fan has died out, it became unplugged somehow, or the relay for it has failed.