What is the normal level for the coolant temp gauge to sit in my EL XR8. At the moment it sits on the "A" freeway driving, then when i'm in traffic and going slow it sits up near the "R"!!! Does anyone else's sit this high???

sounds like ur radaitor is blocked. common fault

Mine sat rather high at the M to R. It could be your thermostat is a bit dodgy. Mine had a bit of coolant residue stuck on it and some corrosion that I cleaned off the housing so I replaced it. I changed mine to a lower temp opening one from BPT.

Here is the link to their site and the thermostats they have

http://norcom.net.au/~bpt/powerstat%20thermosats.htm

After I changed mine it doesnt ever go above L. Just sits on L constantly. This is for my EL XR8. Gave the coolant a flush and replaced it at the same time.

yep, fordgt290 hit the nail on the head.....mine has doin a similiar thing..i got it flushed and got both the tanks replace for $120...runs very cool now..the radiator shop said it was 3/4 blocked... car was still driveable though...get it sorted before summer..

Thanks blokes, I'll get it flushed out and replace the thermostat. What causes the radiator to block anyway???????

Mostly casting sand from when they cast the block. Also, when different types of coolant are mixed thay can react and leave some nasty s**t to build up in the cooling system. And i imagine there's s**t from the thermostat and water pump as they gradually corrode/wear...