I am new here, so let me start by saying that this is a great site. I have read several posts on here already that were very helpful, so I signed up.

Here is what I am dealing with. I recently purchased a very clean 98 durango that someone worked on poorly. I got it cheap, but the engine was swapped out, burnt wires and hoses, oil pan and other parts in the back, oil pump drive shaft broken. I pulled the engine, it was a 5.9 that had been swapped out from the stock 5.2. I rebuilt the engine and put it all back together. (It even had 5.2 balancer and flexplate). So, it runs really good, but I have a CEL that tells me ECT is bad (it is new), and my gauge goes up to 145 or so when I start it warm, and then slowly creeps back down to the coldest position (135). Scanner reads -40. I have looked for ground leads off and everything seems ok, does anyone know where I might look to fix this issue? The engine starts right up, runs great but surges occasionally and chugs slightly when it is first started (smells slightly rich, but no black smoke). New thermostat, no issues with low coolant or getting hot, just a faulty reading.
Thanks in advance for helping out the noob!

 

If you have a multimeter just check for shorted or open wires from the sensor back to the PCM. You mentioned there were burnt wires so that's probably the problem. If running new wires doesn't fix it then something in your PCM might have gotten fried from the burnt wires earlier.

 

Thanks Evon, I will check into that. I have replaced about everything that was burnt or wrong, except the evap surge solenoid, the terminal clip was missing and the vacuum line running to the rear was melted. Just haven't got that far yet. Would it be possible to get a wiring diagram for the 98 from someone here?
Also, do you know what to set the base timing at for the 5.9?
Thanks again!

 

Here's a link to the service manual with what you need. The wiring diagrams will save your life for sure when doing something like this. http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=c...5xauggyi3uc3,1

As for setting the timing, it should be stated in the manual too, I don't know the exact specs for the 5.9 engine.

 

That's great! Wish I would have had this a few days ago!
Thank you!