Today at the Mazda dealership, I was telling them about how my temperature gauge is quite sluggish and never goes up past about 1/4 of the way up the gauge - even after installing a new Coolant Temp Sender Unit. The guy at the desk echoed some things I've read online and says his Ranger does the same thing - takes forever for the needle to move up and then basically stays around 1/4 up. So I thought, Great it's normal.

But then the master technician came in and told me that it's doing that because I have a clog in my radiator and I need a new one. He had me come out there and feel both sides. The passenger side of the radiator was hot but the driver's side of the radiator was just warm.

Do you think he's right, is that indicative of something wrong with the radiator? Or is that normal and he's just trying to upsell?

I would like my temperature gauge to stay at just just below the half-way mark, which is where the needle is supposed to rest. But it seems like a lot of Rangers do not. Not sure how to proceed on this. Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

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