Yeah I have thought about getting the ultra gauge . My vette has both and I never look at the analog gauge I always go by the digital one.

 

Don't think, just get one. Seriously.

 

Well I took her out yesterday for a little road trip. 3 hr round trip. I have a launch code reader and decided to hook it up started playing with it and found live coolant temp values 😎
So I find that the dash gauge is pretty much worthless lol. We had the a/c on pretty much the whole time. I noticed temps ranging from 195’F - 225’F max 225 was at a stand still idle. Whether I was at 195 or 225 the dash gauge would not move. Truck ran great, my question is, do these temps sound right for a 180d thermostat?? I figured it would be running at a consistent 195 tops. But not sure. Seems to fluctuate quite a bit. I seen several posts of lucky8 thermostats not being 180t do little concerning. I’d
like to see those temps lower.

 

180 stat should run between 190 and 205

mine runs 195 to 204
but if your moving it’s inder 200 at all times

 

Has anyone tried drilling an extra hole in the Britpart black or OEM gray t-stat? It would be nice to have a little more flow at idle.

 

Landy04, those are normal temps for a stock thermostat... unless of course you haven't fully bled your system...

It may not be a bad stat, just since you didn't know your actual temps you had no way to know it wasn't fully bled.

A quick way to tell is to open the bleeder screw first thing in the morning while the engine is still cold. if you can add coolant into the system through the bleed hole then you have found and displaced some air. If you do add some, check it again for a few mornings and top up each day until you no longer can add any coolant. THEN let us know where your temps land.

There are many ways of initially bleeding this system but the above is a way to tell if you have fully bled the system.

 

Yes I thought the same thing lol. I wish I knew my actual temps before I changed the t stat. But yeah I’ll do that dave03s. Appreciate the advice.. At highway speeds running 70-75 mph my average was 198-204 also noticed the lower hose right under the t stat doesn’t really get nearly as hot as the top hose. Just curious about that because that usually what I use to determine the t stat has opened.

 

Really? Ignorance.

 

Min01 are you calling me ignorant?? Because I ask a question?

 

Don't get all upset about online postings -- crap gets misinterpreted all the time.

The OEM dash temp gauge is garbage and doesn't really function all that well -- IE don't use it as a method to read your temp readings. Get an ultra gauge or get a mechanical water temp gauge -- much more of an effective tool. OEM white (195 degrees) tstat should be functioning in the temp ranges you posted, OEM grey (180) should be lower by about 15 degrees or so.

Keep in mind, that when the tstat is open all the way, both tstats function in the same manor which means that other parts of your cooling system are not working properly or are clogged.

Sooo. yeah