Why put a 180deg thermostat in when the hotter an engine runs the more efficeint it is?[sm=badbadbad.gif][sm=badbadbad.gif]

 

What throttle body can be put on a 3.9 dakota 2003?[sm=confused06.gif]

 

to answer both
1. cooler temp causes the engine to go into "warm up" mode - more fuel into the system, more fuel = more power = more wear = worse gas milege. And sometimes engines need to have it open at 160 or even as low as 140 to start cooling early and avoid overheating.

2. 52mm is the biggest i would recomend. Just find a second gen dak or ram truck with a 5.7 or 5.9l, it should just bolt up. More than enough even with a free flowing exhaust, throttle body spacer, cold air intake, and what ever else you have on your truck. Do not get the 4.whatever liter throttle body, it wont fit.

 

i agree to the above post.

i think it's an sop for every car to have a minimum operating temperature(i'm not sure if it's the right term), coz the performance of the engine depend on some temp.range. if a car is installed a thermostat cooler than the said temp, the engine may to run too cool, waste gas, and give you lousy performance.

 

Don't forget if the engine is computer controlled, a cooler thermostat will skew the engine sensor readings and may cause all sorts of performance problems. Use what the OEM calls for and if you have an overheat problem, that's a seperate issue that needs to be fixed on it's own.

 

I agree that OEM is really good but if you pull the heads off you will find cracks and your exhaust seats will be toast. This is from the motors running to hot from the factory. You are only talking no more than 15 degrees. Call a machine shop and ask a tech, they will reconfirm my report.

kdh97602 is right in every way. Hotter engine break down allot faster than cooler ones.

 

i am lost on this logic. did you mistype something?
heat is the bane of the internal combustion engine.
you always want to run cooler - except i have to qualify that due to the computer - controlling.
i always put in the lower degree thermostat.

 

So is it good or bad for your truck to put in a 180 degree thermostat?

 

I was wondering if hotter is better only to the point of overheating? The hotter a combustion chamber is the more efficient the fuel is burned. Colder means less efficient.

 

Well......I have MY answer to this question of temperature. Try sitting in rush our traffic in Lafayette Louisiana during summer and not overheat with a stock thermostat. Dakotas and Durangos are notoriuos for not having an efficent cooling system. My 98 Durango would nearly overheat everytime I had to sit more than ten minutes in the summertime down here. I switched to a 180 thermostat and "PROBLEM SOLVED". I know....people are thinking you had something else wrong.....water pump.....radiator....fan clutch. Not true! Everything was in tip top shape before switching to the cooler thermostat. I highly recomend switching to the cooler thermostat if you live in southern regions. Oh.... one more thing..... made the A/C sytem much better when sitting in traffic. We all know how when that engine compartment gets so hot the A/C doesn't blow nearly as cool.