Thermostat
Champion
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,416
Likes: 4
From: Bay Area, CA
is 195 degrees which start to open between 193 -197 and operate at 212
That's according to an email I got from Dodge. Stick with a 195 dealership stat unless you have SCT tunes installed. The only reason to run a 180 degree stat is to prevent pining. There's no performance or fuel mileage gain from a 180 stat
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Professional
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 141
Likes: 0
If your plenum gasket is toast, and you replace it with the hughes plenum plate kit and clean out your intake you will have a couple effects. 1) Sealed intake with no leak therefore you pull all air from your air filter. 2) Clean surfaces tend to promote better air flow. 3) You prevent your cats from getting clogged and your O2 sensors from going to crap $$$$$$ 4) You may never have to take the intake manifold off again unless bigger problems arise in your motor. 5) your engine will be running cooler with the new thermostat your installing.
While doing the plenum seal may I recommend you get
1)plenum plate, gasket, new intake bolts
2)thermostat housing (like 10$)
3)thermostat gasket + 180 thermostat
4)thermostat sealant
5)throttle body cleaner and gasket
6) if you really wanna go nuts you can replace sensors. there is a couple depending on year
Check out the plenum thread, and also the Kegger Mod DYI. then you can get a real idea of all the stuff that you can replace on the intake manifold since your doing, and some would rather spend some money then have to do it again. I am in that boat.
Cheers and good luck man
Post us some pics of what you did it will help all of us!
While doing the plenum seal may I recommend you get
1)plenum plate, gasket, new intake bolts
2)thermostat housing (like 10$)
3)thermostat gasket + 180 thermostat
4)thermostat sealant
5)throttle body cleaner and gasket
6) if you really wanna go nuts you can replace sensors. there is a couple depending on year
Check out the plenum thread, and also the Kegger Mod DYI. then you can get a real idea of all the stuff that you can replace on the intake manifold since your doing, and some would rather spend some money then have to do it again. I am in that boat.
Cheers and good luck man
Post us some pics of what you did it will help all of us!
Thread Starter
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Professional
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 141
Likes: 0
The OE optimum working temperature of a magnum 5.2/5.9 is approximately 212 degrees. The OE thermostat
is 195 degrees which start to open between 193 -197 and operate at 212
That's according to an email I got from Dodge. Stick with a 195 dealership stat unless you have SCT tunes installed. The only reason to run a 180 degree stat is to prevent pining. There's no performance or fuel mileage gain from a 180 stat
is 195 degrees which start to open between 193 -197 and operate at 212
That's according to an email I got from Dodge. Stick with a 195 dealership stat unless you have SCT tunes installed. The only reason to run a 180 degree stat is to prevent pining. There's no performance or fuel mileage gain from a 180 stat
Legend
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 8,663
Likes: 8
From: Central Oklahoma
Yeah that's according to Dodge, the ones that want you to continue giving them money, so I think in this case, the engine will eventually overheat running this hot. 212 is boiling... pretty warm. My radiator actually boiled over, yeah it was going to crap but I wonder why, maybe to hot of coolant running through it... just my opinion but I think running cooler will help the engine in the long run
If this were true, then there would be Dodge trucks all over the OKC area on the side of the road. The issue with your truck could be due to clogged cooling passages, a clogged radiator, a faulty thermostat, or even a faulty water pump. I've had issues with my truck running hot for four years which I finally traced to a leaky head gasket. The leak is so minute that it appears in a sporadic fashion when the truck is unloaded, but when there's a load it gets hot and blows coolant due to the hot gasses getting past the gasket and entering the cooling jacket.Installing a lower temp thermostat is not going to make your truck run cooler and thinking it will is only fooling yourself and not getting to the root cause of the problem.
Right now, as it stands, my truck will barely get to 199º WITH a leaky head gasket; therefore, if the head gasket weren't leaking then the truck would always run at the prescribed 195º -- and that's including the local 100º temperatures we've been experiencing here.
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 325
Likes: 0
From: California
I agree with everyone here that overheating is not because you have a 195 its because of another problem. 180 will make your coolant flow earlier and that's about it. Like they said your thermostat could be faulty, you could and very well do have a blockage in your radiator and you should get a flush kit and flush the heck outta the cooling system. With a 195 i was running 210. After a flush and a 180 i run 190-200.
Administrator
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 87,394
Likes: 4,213
From: Clayton MI
Straight water boils a 212*, (at standard temp and pressure). Raising pressure, or adding antifreeze alters both the freezing point, AND the boiling point. Running straight water in your cooling system is simply asking for trouble.
If you did have the right mix of water/coolant, and you boiled over anyway, the something else is wrong in your cooling system.
If you did have the right mix of water/coolant, and you boiled over anyway, the something else is wrong in your cooling system.
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Professional
Joined: Jan 2010
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You've never heard that the hotter an engine runs, the more wear it puts on it, the colder the air and temp, the more air flow you get and in turn a better running engine
Administrator
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 87,394
Likes: 4,213
From: Clayton MI
There is a 'window' of temp range that engines like to run at. To hot, and you accelerate wear, and lose efficiency. Too cold, and you get the same end result. An engine that eats itself up. Engine designers take this into account when specifying thermostat temps, as it also plays a role in PCM programming. Also tossed in there for consideration, is emissions....... running hotter reduces certain pollutants.... (but, contributes more of others..... fun huh?)
Everything is a compromise.
Everything is a compromise.