Journier

i was just driving my truck and looked down and the temp gauge is reading 190-195 i would say.

is this correct about right?
i have another truck with the dodge 360 gasser engine, and it shows around 170.

i thought this was a diesel , and diesel runs cooler

its also 35-40 degree's out right now fairly bitter and windy...

it was dark when i got home but ill check coolant in the morning..

also the temp gauge sorta jumped it was at 165 or so for a while, then i looked down and it had jumped to the 190 area....

only 7000 miles on the truck, i doubt its anything, im probably just being stupid :/

thanks for info.

TroyH

mine runs 190-200 always has no problems

Teddroe

They all run just under the 200 mark
Don't worry

Journier

thanks, just wondering about the average temp, i thought it was weird that my 99 3500 with box on it at load holds at 170-175.

is this because of the turbo on the engine? creating more heat?

HorseHauler

havent drove a gasser in a while but i thought they ran hotter than 175??

RamWheelsBy4

My 04.5 runs about 195-200 after it is warmed up no matter what driving conditions or temperature. It has been like this since day one and now have 12k.

cquestad

The theromstat is set at that temp. If you want it cooler...get a lower temp thermostat. It is that simple. Cummins decided that 190-200 degrees was the ideal operating temp for this motor, so they installed a thermostat likewise.

BigBlue

Mine's funky. During the summer it sits right at 185 not matter what. Now that it's colder outside, it bounces between 210-185. It's never done that before. I think it's time for a new t-stat and coolant. It's only got 73K miles on the original stuff.

tdupuis

If your cooling system is working properly (and considering the fact that the radiator our trucks come with is larger than some engines, it's hard to believe it wouldn't be), your engine will run at the temperature set by the thermostat. Your 360 gasser motor must have a 170 degree thermostat in it. I believe our trucks have a 190 or 195 degree t-stat in them. My truck is kinda funky. When I start it up and get on the highway, it will go up to 205 and then drop back down to 190-195. Around town (when I'm actually driving around town long enough for it to get up to temperature) it'll run about 5-10 degrees cooler.

Your truck is fine. Newer cars run hotter temperatures to improve combustion efficiency, run leaner mixtures, and hence improve emissions. The colder your engine runs (to a point) the more power you'll make. Cummins chose the thermostat it did as a compromise of engine emissions and power.

nickleinonen

hotter is better up to a point... 200°-215° is alright if you have the cooling system efficent enough to be able to maintain it, and not go above it