My temp guage is at 160. I notice my gas mileage was getting bad. what is causing this?

You may have a bad guage. To check, ground out the sender by placing a screwdriver or alligator clips accross the ground tab and the center positive terninal. If the guage works you would normally expect a sender problem, but since you put on a new sender (assuming it's wired correctly [ no offense ]) you will need to trace t the wires from the guage to the SU. The fuel guage power lead is pink ( or at least it is on boats ) Look for a bad connection, corrosion, frayed wires or anything else that looks abnormal. You may want to simply replace the existing wire temporarily with another wire. This new wire should tell you immediately if your guage is bad. Good luck!

check the coolant level, it may be overheating. if it will start again, start it, and while running, watch the temperature guage. overheating would deffinately make an engine cut off after running for a short period of time. if the temp climbs near the red zone of the guage, dont let it get there, cut it off, and check the cooling system.
another cause could be the fuel delivery. fuel pressure varies at different temperatures, so if it will start when its cold then dies at normal operating temp, it could just not be getting enough gas after it is warm as the pressure has changed. if it isnt the temperature, try running some fuel injector cleaner through it (cheap additive to gas found at almost any gas station) but dont get your hopes up :p cuz its usually not the cheap stuff that fixes cars unfortunately.

We all are. Its called obsurd gas prices! But really, get your oil changed and replace your air filter and possibly go all the way and pay for a tune up. You will see the increase in power performance and gas mileage.

Is your check engine light on? Your escort is what is called an "OBD Compatible" vehicle. Any problem that would cause it to use way too much gas SHOULD be setting fault codes in your onboard computer system.

The next question is have you actually checked fuel mileage? If so, how much mileage are you getting?

The reason I ask is because some people do not understand fuel mileage. I had a lady bring her car in just a couple weeks ago saying that her car was getting "horrible fuel mileage". I checked it out and could not find anything wrong. When I questioned her about it, she said "I used to put $9.00 in it and it would last me all week. Now I am having to put $16.00 in it. I still drive the same way to work, and do not use my car for anything else." I had to explain to her that there was nothing I could do to the car that would fix the price at the pump. Fuel mileage is measured in miles per gallon, NOT miles per dollar.

Also, are you sure it is getting bad fuel mileage? Or are you maybe driving more miles than you used to?

If it is in fact getting bad gas mileage and the check engine light is not on, then the question would be: What kind of condition are your tires in? 50% of all the people I have coming into my shop complaining about bad fuel mileage are running around with tires that are badly worn and/or underinflated. In this case, the best money you could spend would be for a tire pressure gauge and maybe one of those portable air compressors that plug into your cigarette lighter. You can usually purchase a decent compressor for under $30. That way you can check your tires and inflate them yourself on the days when you are not working. Your tire pressures should be checked at least every two weeks.

Just some things to think about....

sure plenty. Bad injectors, clogged air filter, bad spark plug wires, improper tire pressure, transmission lost overdrive, bad temp sensor.... just to name some.

you have a low voltage problem. either a bad battery or a brake in a wire somewhere. My sister had the same problem in her car. Had it to the gm dealer 3 times they couldnt figure it out. I put a new battery in, new wire from batter to starter, and a new altenater and wires to it. just by dumb luck i noticed the (+) wire from the bat to the fuse box under the hood was broke at the fuse box. Put new wire on it and 2.5 years later no problems.

On an older s-10, the clusters usually hold up well, there is a guages fuse, that sends power to these guages. Check to see if this fuse is bad. This may be a cause, Good luck...coop442000

You will need to locate the wire to the fuel sending unit at the fuel tank.

Once you locate the wire, disconnect it and see if the guage goes to 'E". If the guage goes to "E", you probably have a bad sending unit.

To double check, ground the same wire to clean metal on the frame with the key in the "on" position (not running). If the guage does not move, the guage is bad. If the guage moves from E to F, the sending unit needs to be replaced.

You're talking about the coolant temperature right? If so, it's likely to be a coolant temp sensor. They're known to go bad on the A4, and they're only around $20-25 from www.ecstuning.com. If you replace it and the problem isn't fixed, no harm done - sooner or later that sensor WILL go bad. The result is that most likely your thermostat got stuck open and will need to be replaced.

as far as the temp gauge goes...i have a 91 1500, i had the same problem. i replaced the temp sensor and it fixed the problem.

as far as the bad gas mileage... if you haven't already done so, perform a tune up; plugs, wires etc.