So I tackled the job of flushing dex cool yesterday and today. After 6 drain, fill and flushes with distilled water, I added a genuine 180 tstat, peak green stuff and a bottle of water wetter. My temps before at idle were 210-212, after all that, the temps are still in the same area. If I rev it up to about 2500-3000 rpms it'll drop to 194 but won't go any lower. Anyone have any ideas what the issue may be?

 

There is no issue it seems your system is operating as designed. What result did you expect? Lower temps? Before i get too ahead of myself - make sure the system has been fully bleed.

You're not going to get much lower than 194 with an "OEM "pressure activated" t-stat. If you want to idle in the 180's I suggest fitting an inline t-stat. There's a ton of info on the board for your research.

 

I was expecting 10 degrees lower to be honest, I went from a 190 original tstat to a 180. I thought I would see some kind of difference

 

After a second look at your thread the 210-212 idle does seem a little high. Are you certain all air has been bleed. I would give it another shot. I would bleed my system every morning for a week straight just to be sure all air was out.

You should idle around 197-206ish.

What are you using to gauge temps? Ultra Gauge?

 

Yeah I'm going to keep bleeding it, hoping that's all it is. And yes I'm using an ultragauge

 

Is the radiator in good condition and not clogged? I have a complete OEM setup on my 02 Kalahari, and I'm at 173F-183F in the winter and 182-193F in the summer.

If you haven't replaced your radiator I'd be willing to bet it's probably clogged up. Or you just haven't got all the air out of the system yet. Park it nose up, let it run until warm, shut it off, and let it sit overnight. Doing that several times should normally be enough to get any trapped air out.

 

Most likely the radiator, I'm sorry to say.

 

Could it be the fan clutch? It's free to check out. There are a bunch of tips floating around the board and on the web. I know that after the engine has been running and it is shut off, the fan should not make more than 1 full rotation. I think at cold startup and just at idle it doesn't matter much but should be ruled-out anyway.

 

What are the temps at a leisurely 45-55 MPH cruise? If down around 190 or below your radiator is probably OK. If that high only at idle may indicate a fan clutch or electric fan issue. There's also the possibility your ECT/temp sensor is causing indication of higher than actual temps.
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If it's running warm at idle that to me indicates poor air flow thru the radiator or a radiator that is mostly clogged up and just not cooling properly.

Since you do have an 03/04 style Fan Blade/Fan Clutch that is a one piece unit it would be a nice time to upgrade it to the 99-02 Fan Blade/Fan Clutch that is the normal two piece design. Then slap on a Hayden 2991 or similar Fan Clutch.