I may have asked the question wrong, but what should be the normal operating temp for the 5.2 auto, my gauge tells me about 160, just sounds wrong, could someone plz tell me their normal operating temp?

 

First thing, dont trust factory guages. They arent exactly accurate. 160 though sounds a bit cool.. My 3.9 usually sits just below the 200F line.

 

thx, that is what I thouhgt
just wanted to see what others had

 

It is possible that the previous owner swapped in a 160 t-stat, trying to steal some extra power. I'd pull the t-stat and put a new one in. Most vehicles these days come with a 195, but anything down to about 180 is good. Higher temp = more complete burn for emissions, but the drawback is that it's that much closer to detonating if you've got poor gas, carbon buildup, etc. At 160 your ecu is going to richen it up because it doesn't think the engine has warmed up yet. 180 is much better.

 

And richening is BAD for our engines... All Dodge truck engines run rich as heck as it is.

 

My 99 Dak used to run about 180-200. That was with the 5.2L.

 

thx all, that is what I thought, got a new T-stat today
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