My temp level is around 145-150. So my heat isn't pushing too hot. I'm thinking its the thermostat. So I went out and bought a 180 degree thermostat. Just wondering how can I change this out myself. Any tips or pictures to know how to start. I've worked construction my whole life and can tell you anything you need to know about jobs. But never put the time into learning about automotives. Any positive feedback would be great. Thanks.

 

Get a 195 stock thermostat if everything else is stock on your truck. 180 stat requires a tuner and thermostat probably isn't the the reason your heater won't put out. Could try back flushing your heater core, more than likely it's a heater core problem. The gauge on my truck sits just about half way between the 130 and 210, maybe a little closer to the 210 mark. That's with a 195 stat. Oh, and if you do a search you'll find plenty of info on changing it out if need be.

 

pull the alt, and then pull the thermostat housing. cut the little tab off the housing to make it easier next time. replace thermostat, and gasket, and put everything back together.

start truck with rad. cap off, and burp the cooling system. add coolant as needed.

burping may take an hour or better. these trucks are finicky and like to take their time.

also, make sure the passenger side front of the truck is higher than the rest of the truck, so the coolant system is burped properly.

have fun!

 

If you have a/c, need to pull the compressor first. Just unbolt it, and set it aside, don't need to disconnect the lines. (and you don't really want to anyway.) On bolt is kinda fun with the lines in place, just be creative. DON'T bend the metal part of the lines.

 

Follow redneck ram's directions, no need to mess with a/c compressor. There is a bracket by alternator that needs to moved out of the way, 1/2" socket. Make sure you get old gasket material scraped off good and surface nice and clean, so you don't have leaks and have to do it twice.

 

The 180 temp rating of the Thermostat is NOT the problem, This is a huge rumor being thrown around. It also does not need a tuner to be an effective thermostat with real world benefits, though a tuner may help in getting the most out of it. I'm not running a tuner or anything really on my stock 360, and on the 100 degree days last summer we had when I was pulling 11,300 lbs I didn't regret it at all, it didn't get that doggy power after warming up and pulling a load for 150 mile round trip. Regardless of computer your truck will heat & cool as it pleases. Plus I can tell a difference just opening the hood that the engine bay overall is cooler, the residual heat rush just from opening the hood doesn't burn my face off like with the 195. Its only "15" degrees of difference but its enough to cushion times when your truck needs to idle or has to work very hard. Plus less heat also aids in keeping the fuel mixture slightly cooler to help against pinging no matter what the computer is thinking and that if you're pinging you're not making the max power you could be, so a cooler engine is a plus for making power...180 all the way!. In summer my keg manifold read 132 degrees after installing the 180, verified when I used my brothers infared heat gun, 21 degrees cooler than with the 195 thermostat!. That helps big time when you are working on one of these, not being burnt by the keg manifold!.

In refference to the original thread starter... if you buy the more expensive thermostats some of them with the safety feature will stick open and sometimes you'll get a defective one that the first time its used it will stick open. That is why your average cheapo thermostat can be a better option, no worries if that safety feature activated or not.

Also regardless of what thermostat you buy, always drill a small hole in them so they can release air locks and can properly pressurize the system. I recently was starting to doubt myself for putting the 180 in, but then I realized 2 days ago that I was low on antifreeze by half a jug and that my overflow was doing just that! overflowing! crappy cap & leaking overflow. Fixed that and my 180 thermostat heats very good, Since I'm in Wisconsin I can say the 180 thermostat is good even in the winter time, tested at -2 degrees yesterday morning, within 20 minutes of driving you'll be sweating with the heat on high.

 

The 15 degree temp difference isn't really helping your engine run cooler..... Your computer is calibrated for the 195 degree stat. Going lower than that, the computer is adjusting mixture to try and convince the engine to fully warm up. (hence, the "too cold too long" codes that some folks experience) You are actually compromising the efficiency of your engine with the 180 degree stat. It might make a couple degree temp difference in intake air temps, but, any benefit from that is negligible.

Also, you state that it makes a big difference in under hood temps, but has no effect on heater performance? Do you not see the disconnect there? Most of your under hood heat comes from the exhaust manifolds in any event. They are a LOT warmer than 195 degrees.

So, unless you have a tuner that wants to take advantage of the lower temp thermostat, running the lower temp on an otherwise stock engine, isn't doing you any good at all. If you overheat on hot days, really working your engine, doesn't matter WHAT temp thermostat you have in there, it's still gonna overheat. That's a product of the cooling systems capability to dissipate the heat. Rate of heat transfer is directly proportional to the difference in temp...... a hotter radiator will shed heat faster, than a cooler one, given the same conditions. If you are generating more heat than the radiator can get rid of, thermostat temp ceases to be a part of the equation.

 

180* tstat will work JUST FINE with a stock computer! Also know, that if your cooling system is dirty, then flush it before you blame the tstat. Made a HUGE difference on our RAM.

 

I'm glad a few of you people don't work on my vehicles, because you're so full of **Bee Ess you'd stain the upholstery.








**I'm referring to your (alleged) tech talk regarding thermostats

 

ok let's not get pissy here. All we are doing is stating our opinions. If anyone wants to have a technical argument then have it in the Gibberish thread, NOT here.