The aluminum motor was designed by lamborgini. The iron fellers are basically a 5.9 with a couple more cylinders.

Mine gets about halfway between 130, and 210, and the heat is NOT as hot as I think it should be. Of course, that has always been a problem with these trucks, getting all the air out is quite an exercise. According to theory, the 'thermostat' is 190 degrees, mine never even gets close to that.....

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out for ya.

 

Thanks HeyYou


I drained more fluid but then had to soak up a little inside the engine on the pad below the thermostat.

I am off get a new stant 14539 . Once I have it I can better determine how the system works but so far it looks like it works approximately the way I said it did . If so it is retarded and changing the temp of the "thermostat" will likely have little effect on the running temp.

It also looks like there may be different temp t stats available that are not listed in the catalog because dodge does not want anything other than the original temp one used.

Also, some people are drilling several 1/4" holes in the t stat in an attempt to get the air out of the system, however, if the t stat works the way i think it does, all this does is completely bypass the t stat so they might as well not run one at all.

 

I think the biggest problem with the cooling system is, the heater core is the highest point, therefore, it is very prone to trapping air in there, and heater efficiency suffers.... There have been a LOT of threads on that.

I am going to try installing my flush "T" into the heater outlet hose, and see if that doesn't make life easier.

 

Yeah, my heater doesn't work well either and it definitely isn't plugged.

Got the new stant t stat so i'll try to figure out exactly how the system works but its still looking like there is nothing to regulate the running temp.

 

I just went and looked at mine and the radiator hose is in the way for me to remove it again, but if I remember right I took a small pick with a 90 degree bend on the end and slid it up under the plug by where the lock tab is on the sensor and pried out on the body of the plug itself while pulling up on the top of the plug with pliers. It took a little wiggling too. I thought I was gonna break it but it came off ok.


thanks for the read about the thermostat on those too.

 

thanks for the info.

i'll try and verify the way it works but it might not be possible to decipher the entire mystery without knowing how the water passages are routed in the block.

 

The only success stories I've read about people getting their heat back to working right on these is from using the $100 dealership thermostat. I think
I'm gonna pull mine apart again and replace that seal that's pressed in below the thermostat and do the flush T idea HeyYou was talking about and see what happens. Not anytime real soon though

 

It's cold out, and I like my heat, so, this may happen in the next few days for me....

Do folks really recommend getting a stat from the dealer????? Doesn't seem like there is a whole lot to engineer there... but then, I guess the same could be said for a crank sensor..... Its *just* a hall effect switch......

 

ok, the unit is a standard t stat but it works in a different way than a standard t stat . instead of a flat disc opening . the outer shell of the t stat moves in and out to regulate flow . i put the new 190 degree stant t stat in water and it opened at 185 according to my inaccurate ir gun.

my orig t stat was broken so it was allowing water to flow freely.

the seal that came with the new t stat is TOO FRIGGEN SMALL . It would require a sledge hammer to beat the t stat thru it.

the orig seal and replacement seal are not rubber . they are more like stiff teflon so they are not very compliant . if you run your finger around the lip of the factory seal and do not feel any missing chunks i would then put a thin coat of grease on the new t sat and install it . if it requires just a little force to install it, it will seal properly.

if it falls right in it will not seal well and will allow a little water past but not a huge amount . this is hard to tell how much affect it will have on the running temp but it should be very little if any.

the new seal requires a special tool to install or a huge socket that is just slightly smaller than the od of the seal.

the alternator must be unbolted then removed or moved forward 3 inches to remove the rad hose housing and get enough room to work in there.

the factory used schellac to install the gasket on mine so it will NOT come off even with my $20.00 gasket remover tool . i am now searching for some type of gasket dissolver.

drilling four 1/4" holes in the t stat shell like some people do is not intelligent because it allows a huge amount of water to bypass the t stat . if anything a single 1/8" hole will be sufficient to serve the same purpose and i may do this but i am going to try and figure out how the system works first . if you drill a hole in it it must be drilled at least 1/4" ABOVE where the seal will ride when the t stat is closed.

 

I read in one thread that a guy didn't believe thermostat technology till he came across this with his truck. Other people saying they simply swapped it out with a dealer stat and it's fine. I'm wondering if a fresh seal is that big a deal with how that housing system works and people aren't changing it because it still seems alright. That still wouldn't explain the easy fix with the dealer stat though (unless those guys where doing the seal too). I'm reading 188 at the housing, so at least the sensor is getting the right info I think.


I get somewhat decent heat once I'm gassing down the road, just not so much at idle, so the core could be on its way out too. I hear you on liking the heat. Heated seat covers?


I've also looked around about the burping the core deal with these engines and they don't seem to be brought up much a with these truck/engines. Was this pretty much an issue with all the 2nd gen trucks? I don't ever get any gurgle sound or anything.