My '03 has 7 marks on the water temp gauge in a semi-circle. Mark #1 is labeled 100, #3 is 150, #5 is 200, and #7 is 250. You say yours "goes from the middle mark up past the third mark..." I'll guess that you have three marks on the gauge in the operating range, and you by "middle" you mean second mark. So when it goes "from middle to third" it is getting hotter, then cooler again.
If the temp fluctuates a lot while driving, that is not normal unless you are pulling the engine really hard, then coasting. Even then I would not expect fast fluctuations, but relatively gradual.
One thought does occur to me ...I had my engine coolant changed in April of this year (2 yr change coolant interval per Cummins manual), and it kept emptying the coolant recovery tank. I would fill it, and the next time I drove it the tank would go empty again. When I questioned the service guy I discovered they had not put enough coolant in the system to fill it, but apparently had air trapped in the system. Each time I drove it the air apparently would burp out and then when it cooled the system would suck the overflow tank dry pulling liquid back into the engine. I didn't notice my temp gauge fluctuating, but suppose air pockets could easily cause hot spots in the engine. I also found they had not put the type coolant I had requested in writing, so they drained it again and replaced the coolant with what I had requested and managed to get more in it the second time. And I had no more problems with coolant disappearing...
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Paul (KE5LXU) ...was fulltimin', now parttimin'
2022 Coachmen Leprechaun 319MB
towing 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
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