If the thermostat opens at 195* and the truck cannot maintain 195'ish and runs hot, there is a problem. The thermostat opening up 15* sooner will begin pushing coolant sooner, but tell me how this is going to stop an overheat issue? I fail to see how a truck that can't maintain 195* with a properly operating 195* thermostat is going to maintain 180* with a 180* thermostat.

AGAIN, if his truck was operating correctly, he'd be running 15* cooler with the 180*, but since he has an issue that is causing overheating, that issue is not going to magically go away by virtue of putting a cooler thermostat in.

The only way replacing his thermostat is going to remedy the problem is if his problem is the 195* thermostat not opening at the proper temperature. But then, he'd be fixed if he just replaced the 195* with a properly working 195*...

 

thanks for your help im going to replace the t stat with the stock 195 just for the winter and because of how it spiks right after start up then goes back down sounds like it is sticking ill let you know if that helps ill be doing it on monday

 

You know an air bubble will do that, have you tried to burp the system?

 

how do you burp the system?

 

Just put the truck over your shoulder and pat it on the back.

 

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...ystem-diy.html

 

 

Bingo. Here's a testimony of the 180º t-stat from an unhappy customer.

 

Consider your winter temps before installing a 180 T. My winters will dip to and below zero. Often I throw the "engine to cold" code. I have a Hypertech so I just clear it. My work around has been carboard between the radiator and the A/C. This works great in the winter under normal load but I fish and duck hunt all winter. When I pull a 4K boat and have three guys and a lab in truck the temp gauge goes well over the middle range. I have monkeyed with different size holes in the carboard but there isn't a happy medium between normal load and full load so under load I yank the carboard. In the summer I love the 180T, in the winter it's a pain in the nuts.

I am headed back to the 195. Hope this helps.

 

I have never had a problem with 180 tstat in the summer or winter. I see temps to and below 0 as well. The heater temp is a little less hot, but still enough to cut the defrost and warm the cabin to my satisfaction. I'd say try out the 180. If don't like the temp, then switch to 195. If it works good for you though, then you are good to go.

Keep in mind that the "engine too cold" code will come up whether you have a 180 or 195 in extreme cold temps. If your truck is running cold enough that you get this code with a 180, then having a t-stat that opens at 195 instead isn't going to help because you just proved that your engine isn't even getting up to 180 to start with, so it certainly isn't going to get to 195. The best thing to do in those extreme cold temps is block the radiator (I use cold weather grill inserts) and try to get it to heat up due to no air flow through the radiator. I personally would rather have a 180 if I am blocking the radiator because you would be less likely to accidentally overheat then you would with a 195 if you are blocking air flow through the radiator (the problem 2 Marks describes - will be worse with a 195 then a 180).