Yea, yea I KNOW..... Diesels run COLD....yadda yadda yadda...

Cold weather is just around the corner and my cabin heater SUCKS!

Anyways, I own a 98 12 Valver and my Engine Temp gauge rarely goes up much past 140.

I know the Cardboard in front of the Radiator trick, but is there anyway else to increase engine temperature or heater output temperature ???


TIA!

ERIC

 

I would replace the thermostat.

 

Does your truck ever reach normal operating temperature of 180-190 degrees? How far is an average drive for you?

 

Definitely check/install the thermostat.

 

You may have read this from other thermostat threads, but the new DC supplied thermostat is a cold beastie... The original Cummins 180 deg 'stat is no longer supplied via DC and they superceded the original with a colder running Cummins 'stat.(~140-150) I don't have the right part numbers with me but a search of THERMOSTAT will likely give you lots to read.
Do yourself a favor and go down to a real CUMMINS parts dealer with the number and get the original 180deg 'stat... Your wallet will thank you too.
I was in a real bind when my original 'stat stuck closed and the Cummins house was temporarily out of the part and would have to ship one in from San Antonio. This meant I had to go to a Dodge dealer and fork out $78 for a Cummins thermostat in a Cummins box with a DC parts label on it... AND it was the colder superceded stat. The 180deg 'stat was only $24 from Cummins...
Either way you go, DC or Cummins, make sure you get both new rubber 'stat gaskets. The old ones had taken quite a "set" and were rather brittle.

K.