Installed the Ultragauge and I wanted check on the coolant temps its giving me. At idle it runs between 208-212. Driving around town it runs approximately the same temps. When on the freeway running 65-70 mph the temp rises to 217 and climbed as high as 220. Went back down to 210 or so when I exited freeway. Are these temps out of whack?

 

Yeah man. They sound a little high. Your temps should def dip below 200 when crusing at 65-70mph. Not climb to 220° thats entering the danger zone.

What t-stat you running? Was it ever changed? Hows your coolant levels? Hows the condition of your radiator? Have you cleaned out the fins w/ a hose - making sure to get any loose gunk, dry leaves, dirt out if there?

 

Have not changed the t-Stat and have no records of it ever being changed. Coolant level is good. Radiator appears clean but I have not cleaned with hose. I felt like those temps were high. Thanks.

 

I would recommend installing a 180° t-stat. Upon removal of the t-stat dont be surprised if you find one or more of holes in the stat plugged up w/ gunk. With those temps your posting its highly likely something is in there restricting coolant flow.

Make sure to throughly bleed the system after install. Tip: pull the coolant resevoir out of its mounting bracket and hold it up in the air above the engine (as high as the hoses will allow you to go) while filling up w/ coolant. Search for how to properly bled the DII. Good luck.come back w/ questions.

 

And change to green coolant if not already done.

 

Should I do an OEM replacement from Atlantic British or a Motorad soft spring T-Stat? Any experiences with either?

How do I find out if the T-Stat is 180 degrees?

Sorry for all the questions.

 

I would suggest and recommend the "gray" soft spring stat. a.k.a. warm weather stat. I have the Motorad 180° stat. Bought it off Amazon. Love it.

 

I would go with the motorad 180. My temps are down to less than 200 even at idle. 194 at cruise or in any kind of movement. My heater does suck a little but at least my engine is not destroying itself.

 

Those Temps sound high. Like someone said before you should run cooler on the highway then off.

I just installed the motorad and love it. I was running 199 on the highway and 212-217 at idle with the stock T-Stat. Now I'm at 194 on the highway and 204-206 at the hottest.


Do you have the green coolant or the orange stuff?
Do you have the new style Plastic bleeder T?
Could also be your Water Pump going out. Any wobble in the engine fan?

This a could time to change those if you havn't. Be sure to bleed the cooling system before driving or starting the truck. If you have the orange coolant then be sure to pull the coolant drain plugs in the engine block to get all the old stuff out.

 

I would advise not driving thru Auburn AL anytime soon... what a beat down!