That makes good sense. Perhaps a trip to Harbor Freight on the down low is in order.

 

Just tell the wife you need to pick up some beer to work on the truck.

 

Forgive my ignorance...I point the infrared thermometer at the thermostat housing to read the coolant temp?

 

The temp gauge looks like mine with the 180 stat but my heater is very hot especially since I replaced the core last year.

Just try another stat. Easy and cheap. Also, get the radiator fill highest by jacking up the passenger side.

 

Correct.

 

Yep. It'll do lot's of other things too. If your engine is running rough, you can aim it at the exhaust manifold and see where you have a dead cylinder. The manifold by that cylinder will be cooler than the rest. Plus, the laser pointer on it is good for giving the cat some exercise.

 

You NEVER want to use anything for food around ethylene glycol coolant. It is EXTREMELY toxic! Tell your wife all the other things that $30 tool can do. She can open the oven door and see what the turkey temperature is without reaching and possibly setting her hair on fire.She can test the temperature of the air coming out of vents if she's cold to see why you need to turn the thermostat up. I'm sure you'll find other uses once you get one. I don't use mine often, but it's irreplaceable when I do use it.

 

I don't mean to be a spoil sport here, but you cannot test air temp with a infrared thermometer, it will give you the temp of the vent boot or what ever is behind the air that you are
trying to test, but not the air itself.
Here is why

 

So I've replaced the thermostat and housing. Still have a small coolant leak in the housing area. Can't figure out where it's coming from. I suppose it's possible that the new hose has a crack in it or that I sliced into it with the hose clamp(used screw type, as opposed to the original constant pressure clamp for ease of use since it's in a tight spot). Jacked up the passenger side, filled with coolant. The top hose gets hot, bottom hose cool, heater hoses warm to the touch. Engine temp still not getting above where it was before and still no heat in the cab. Gonna go to Harbor Freight this afternoon to get an infrared thermometer. Assuming that the coolant is actually running at 180ish degrees, thoughts on what else may be causing it?

 

Air pocket in the heater core still. They are a pain to get all the air out.

Need to know what temp the coolant really is..... Take it from there.