I just picked up a 1996 ram v10

3500 dually, was running @ 230 coolant temp. I went and bought a new thermostat and gasket. Upon removing the thermostat housing It Turns out there wasn’t one installed so I installed the new one. Let it run for 30 minutes and it’s slowly climbed to 215 - 230. Didn’t go over the 230, drove it home and it dropped a bit but not much, is that normal? Or too hot? Thanks in advance

 

Sounds like it's running a bit warm. Hopefully, you installed a quality 195 degree thermostat like a Stant Superstat. Also, check to ensure that your water pump is in good shape along with your fan clutch. Check the radiator to make sure it's full of coolant and and that the coolant is flowing properly through the radiator and it isn't clogged. Lastly, you might want to verify that the gauge is reading the temperature correctly, as they are known to be a bit off sometimes or the temperature sensor may need replacement.

 

96 still has two temp sensors, one for the PCM and one for the dash. A simple code reader with live data will show what temperature the PCM reads. If they are similar there is something else going on but I wouldn't be surprised if the dash and the PCM diverge by a substantial amount.

 

Somebody knew it was overheating and removed t-stat in a desperate attempt to "fix" it.

Yeah I'd say 215-230 is too hot

As noted make sure the rest of the cooling system is up to snuff, including verifying that the radiator isn't clogged from dust/debris/seeds/leaves etc

 

Think I would make sure the gauge is actually telling the truth first......