First thank you for your help/responses. I had a cracked housing and my friend/ dodge mechanic suggested I replace the thermostat while I replaced the housing. So I did. Ever since then the gauge is reading at 1/8 after driving 15 miles. Park the car and drive again 1-4 hrs later gauge gets to 1/4 to 3/8. If I dare turn the heater on it drops to 1/8 or below. Do I need to replace the sensor? I bought the thermostat from dodge but keep reading online that people have to file down something on the thermostat as the original was stacked by the factory. Is this true and if so how and what do I file? Can someone show me a picture of what yo file. Need to drive in the 19-30 deg weather next weekend and can't be without heat and a car not operating correctly.

 

Did your purchase an OEM or JET t-stat replacement? These two are the best quality t-stats, and both have a breather hole which its orientation should be at 12 O'clock.

Also, downstream there is an allen screw which needs to be opened, "NOT REMOVED" to bleed the line out. It sounds like you need to bleed the line, you likely have air trapped (pretty much common when swapping/installing t-stats), and its not cycling properly which is causing your current symptoms.

 

Thanks for responding sedan. OEM part was purchased from dodge. Breather hole is in the 12oclock position. My what I thought was a friend/dodge mechanic bled the line as we did the coolant exchange. Unfortunately he won't return any of my calls or text and now I'm stuck with this issue.

 

I would likely try and bleed the line again. Its nothing complex, and you may have a air pocket still.

The "filing down" I don't believe affects the stock t-stat. Aftermarket t-stats have been known to have an oversized outside diameter, which required the minor OD size altering. JET makes a quality t-stat, and does cost more, but then again, quality costs money.

It's possible you may have a defective "new" t-stat, however I would pursue re-bleeding the line again.