I'm going to look at a 3rd Gen truck with the 5.7 in it that is 3 hours away from me.

The tach shows it's at idle but I noticed the temp gauge in the picture and the needle seems too hot to me and the check engine light is on.

Is this a normal location or is it running too hot?

 

That's pretty hot. My 03 sits in the middle of the gauge.

 

Definitely hotter than it should be. Mine used to sit slightly below the middle. I would also get that check engine light checked.

 

I'd stay away from any dodge truck that has any kind of gauge issue.my 04 has that same issue temp gauge pegs with key on I've been searching for a solution .the pegged gauge causes the computer to retard the timing then the motor has no power.ive been looking for some kind of fix since January haven't found one yet.it looks like I'll be selling my truck to the scrap yard just because the temp gauge doesn't work.nobody makes a replacement and can't use a used dash they are programed to each truck as far as I have been able to find out.i am going to try to remove a temp gaugfrom e

 

Might get a used cluster from the junkyard, and take that one apart, to see how it comes apart.... learn on that one, then go after yours.

That said, Dodge must have a way to repair/reprogram these.... However, if your computer thinks the engine is overheating as well, it may not be a gauge problem. PCM gets its reading FIRST, then it tells the cluster what to display. Can you plug in with a scanner, and see what the PCM thinks engine temp is?

 

The gauge may be accurate and you have a cooling issue.
Does the needle go straight to that position on cold start, or does it work it's way up there slowly?