Temp Gauge barely moves

[diablo243]

Hey all, new square body owner here with a 87 V10 Burb, vehicle is in great overall shape but suffers from some nagging issues much like I did when I approached 30 years old. So one of my issues is the temp gauge barely moves, come up just a hair off the 100 mark and settles in there. Thermo stat seems to be working, heat blows hot after a warm up period and engine bay is not overly hot. Just wondering A. what normal operating temp is for the 5.7L and B if I should start with sending unit or gauge as the likely failure point? Thanks all!

 

[robert8096]

190-210 is the standard operating range for a small block. Most of the time it's the sender but before throwing parts at the problem I would get a infra-red thermometer and see what the temp is right by the sender and a few other places on the block and radiator.