86 Golf Diesel Coolant warning light- what the normal range of temp. gauge.

What is the normal coolant temp gauge supposedly to be?

My Golf has a gauge that looks like: (Left to right) white area, then
two dots, temp symbol, then to more dots, then a slash line. My needle
runs right over the temp symbol, which is almost 1/2 way to the
middle.

I blew a hose recently so I know the indicator light works. I repalced
a hose, filled the coolant as mentioned before. Water pump works. If
the level goes down after repeated top off's, would,nt tan oil be a
sign of a leaking head gasket?

On Sep 2, 9:49 am, 86GolfDiesel
> wrote:
> What is the normal coolant temp gauge supposedly to be?
>
> My Golf has a gauge that looks like: (Left to right) white area, then
> two dots, temp symbol, then to more dots, then a slash line. My needle
> runs right over the temp symbol, which is almost 1/2 way to the
> middle.
>
> I blew a hose recently so I know the indicator light works. I repalced
> a hose, filled the coolant as mentioned before. Water pump works. If
> the level goes down after repeated top off's, would,nt tan oil be a
> sign of a leaking head gasket?

I wouldn't worry unless it moves into the red (far right). Often,
mine sits towards the left but when I idle for a long time (or drive
hard in hot weather) it sits in the middle. As far as the leaking
head gasket- tan oil could indicate a blown gasket, so could white
colored exhaust (REALLY white)- also the car would probably be running
rough- though, in truth, there's no surefire way to tell.