I have 98 Caravan. 3.0 engine. 198,000 miles. Just changed water pump and timing belt. Engine runs fine. I am concerned that temperature gauge on dash shows higher temperature than what I recall before water pump change. The temperature gauge now hovers around the halfway point and the engine seems and smells hotter. At this point, I can not hear the cooling fan on. It seems the only time the cooling fan will come on is when I turn on the A/C, at which time both fans come on automatically. But the cooling fan nevers seems to come on by itself.

1) At what temperature is the cooling fan supposed to come on?

2) Do I need to investigate further? I am concerned that since I had the water pump go out on me maybe the cooling fan not coming on or operating properly is a secondary problem.

3) I unplugged the connector to the temp sensor on engine (beside thermostat housing) and both fans came on.

Any comments on what the problem is, if any?

Additional comments:

One more thing....since I replaced the water pump and timing belt, I have noticed that the engine feels like it is hesitating and the miles per gallon has gone down. The engine only hesitates when gas peddle is first pushed down. It still has plenty of power and go after initial hesitation. To answer those who think timing is maybe off, I checked timing alignment at least 3 separate times before putting timing cover back on. A friend of mine thinks that the higher than normal operating temperature could be the cause of the engine hesitation and lower gas mileage.

 

Off hand I'm not convinced the engine is running hot. The temp gage should be in the middle of the gage. Without the A/C on, the cooling fans only come on under hard usage or if you let it sit and idle for 15 minutes or so--you may want to try that. Although the hesitation and fuel economy do sound like retarded timing, it sounds like you have that covered. Why did you replace the water pump--was it leaking? About the only way they fail is due to leakage at the shaft seal or due to a bad bearing. These days the impellors don't erode or come loose like years ago.

 

[align=left]1) I replaced water pump because it went out. In the process of replacing the waterpump I also placed what are called repair sleeves on the end of crank shaft and ends of both camshafts. To do so, I had to pull the distributor. I am wondering, even though the engine timing is right, whether I got the distributor back in right or whether the gear is off a notch.
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Yah--sorry, I forgot that the 3.0 still had a distributor. It is very possible that you are off a tooth, especially since they have a helical gear that rotates the shaft a tooth as you insert it. Do you have a shop manual that shows how to set ignition timing? If not, I may be able to send a few relevent pages. Retarded timing sure fits your symptoms!!