OK, so heres a quick question, i just bought another dodge, but this time was was looking for something a little different to go alond with the diesel. So I found a good deal on a used 2000 with a 360. Not a bad truck at all, but here's my question. Is it just me or does take a REALLY long time for the gas engines to warm up? Its not getting any warmer outside and I'd really like for some heat to start pumping out of this thing sometime soon. Take last night for example, I drove almost 30 miles and the Temp needle was still pegged all the way to the left. It hadn't even moved. It wasn't untill i got almost all the way to where i was going before it finally moved to opperating temp. Is this a common thing with the magnum engines? This is the first one that I've had so dont really know too much about them.

 

My '02 360 took FOREVER to warm up....I forgot what heat was....This new truck runs me outta the cab...Any idea what thermostat is in it?

 

mine (carburated, not magnum) takes a good 15 minutes to warm up properly

 

I'm not too sure what thermostat is in it. I've heard of people changing them in their trucks before but never knew why. Maybe this is the reason? I guess that I'll just have to start dressing warmer. Even my Cummins dont take that long to get warmed up. However, I did find one way to get it to warm up quicker. I found out that if you reallt punch it a few times on the highway, then it will warm up a little quicker. But at the same time you can watch the gas gauge drop Oh well. I guess thats the way it goes.

 

had a 2000 sport and yes it was cold blooded too.
here is the site i was on til i got the ctd.
http://www.dodgetrucks.org/forums/

 

Woah. thanks for the web site. I've been looking for a site like this one but for gassers. Thanks again for the replys guys. now i dont feel so bad.

 

had a '99 and it was a seriously cold S.O.B....

 

I had my 95 360 for 10 years before getting the Cummins. I had the same problem and it turns out the thermostat was stuck partially open. The engine couldn't get hot enough to send heat into the cabin. If you have the stock thermostat, I bet that's it.

 

my 97 318 is cold like that.....

 

i ran a 180 in my 360. the cooler t-stat helps prevent ping with cheap gas (plus i had a programmer) and also i figured it would help out with the possibility of cracked heads (when i pulled my heads for a valve job, i had cracks on #7 and #8. i later learned it was somewhat common on the non-rt heads because of the water jacket design). to answer your question though, mine wasnt so cold blooded that n 30 miles you strill had no heat, but, i live in south Texas, so it only usually gets in the 20sat the coldest. id check to see if ur t-stat may be stuck open. are you throwing any codes? there is one code for too long to reach operating temp, that'll get thrown if you run the ~160 tstat or cooler....

 

In my old 95 360 2500 i had to run about 10-15 miles before it got warm. So yeah it was fairly cold blooded. But my 02 cummins is the opposite, in about 2 miles i have heat in the cab. Sometimes i find myself turning it to "cold" on the heater dial just because the heater it putting out so much heat.
matt

 

i timed it this morning when i took my sister to school. it was only about 50* but i cranked it up at 7:04 she came out at 7:11. finally after about 4 miles of driving at 7:16 it got up to operating temp (~180*). thats an 87 318, not a magnum but has same problems

 

I haven't noticed my wife's 2000 Durango (360 Magnum) being excessively cold-blooded, but I don't drive it that much, either. Hey, as much gas as those things burn, you'd think they would have no problem generating heat!! Seriously, it sounds like the thermostat could well be stuck open.

Rusty

 

it shouldnt be, i replaced it 6 weeks ago

 

Just because it's new doesn't mean that it isn't stuck. New stuff can be defective. It's easy enough to check out - start the truck, pull the radiator cap and watch for it to open. If you find that you already have circulation with a cold engine, the thermostat is open.

Rusty