I am asking this question for my father in law, he has a '93 dakota v6 4wd that just won't come to temperature at outside temps of 15 degrees fahrenheit or lower. We have changed the thermostat and he has put cardboard in front of the radiator, but it still runs cold according to the gauge and the heater output. He says the radiator fan runs constant and I have yet to look to see if it's electric or belt driven or what. Any info would be appreciated. Both of my in laws are in their 60's and don't respond to cold very well. Thanks in advance.

 

Never trust an electric gauge. You can use a simple meat thermometer on the radiator filler cap (pull the cap out WHEN COLD, then drop in the thermometer) and fire up the engine. See if it's really getting up to temp or not. If the engine is, but the heater doesn't blow hot, then the heater core is probably clogged, or there may be a defective heater control vavle in the system. If the heater is clogged, a good backflushing should take care of it - just be sure not to plug in and run cold water through a hot engine or it will probably develop a crack.

 

Exactly, The stock temp guage sucks in the winter. Plus there arent any numbers to go by anyway. Sometimes the clutch fans will stay locked up in really cold weather.