Cooling question...

[Jgreemo]

Hi all, I recently replaced a lousy non-opening 195* Stant stat with a hi flow 180* Robertshaw. It's certainly running cooler now, considering the big 4 row Modine radiator and high capacity water pump I have.
One question, I live in Southern California and make regular trips into Baja Mexico during the summer and trips up to the mountains in the winter. When the Stant was working, by the iffy GM temp gauge I was running around 170*-190*. With the new stat, the gauge reads around 150*. Assuming these are ball park figures, I want to make sure the truck is running at the right temp to avoid poor mileage and build up.
Also considering the range of air temps range I encounter (very hot to very cold), what's the best temp choice for a stat, 180* or 195*?

Thanks and best regards,
Jon

[Jgreemo]

No ideas out there? I've done the search, but with the problems with the server, nothing comes up.
Thanks,
Jon

[Eric Deslauriers]

The database got wiped and some messages are intermittently getting wiped as well.

This post should hopefully get you the attention you're looking for.

Me no know, kimosabe (sp?).

[patrick m.]

there was general agreement that the 180* t-stat was the best overall choice.
(thats the way i remember it)
In Tennessee, it gets pretty hot (high 90s) in the summer, and pretty cold (teens and 20s) in the winter, and the 180 stats have been suitable here. ;)

[NH2112]

I'm now a fan of 180* t-stats too, after installing one in my 85 K10 last year. I think it was too late to see how that truck handled really hot temps with a 180*, but my C1500 now has a 180 in it and I had absolutely no problems with overheating during this hot summer - and I purposely ran the truck hard on hills just to try and tax the cooling system. After I installed it )in the K10) the temp gauge read so low that I used my meter's temp probe to check opening temp with the engine running, and I think the coolant got as high as 184* before the stat opened, falling to about 176* afterwards. By the temp gauge I showed a 25* decrease in coolant temp as compared to the 195* stat (I'd never used my meter to check coolant temp with the old stat.) So, I definitely recommend the 180* stats - in th wintertime I had less heat output but a winterfront helps there.

[CleviteKid]

The dashboard temperature gage is notoriously inaccurate, but I think it still gives a relative reading -- when the engine is hotter the needle moves higher.

I have had several Robertshaw 180 T-stats in my truck over the years and they all show about 150F on the dash gage. I even changed senders on the head to eliminate that variable - still 150F. It's the gauge, stupid.

Dr. Lee ;)

[DieselDavy]

The 6.2 originally came from the factory with a 180-degree thermostat. (At least that

[britannic]

Interestingly, the CUCV military version of the 6.2L was fitted with a 190F thermostat (p/n 14077122).

I tried a 180F T. in my engine, but it didn't idle as well and smoked more in the colder months, so I went back to a 190F.

The important thing is be sure that the engine runs efficiently with whatever temperature thermostat is fitted - too cold and the diesel won't ignite as well and too hot - well we know what can happen then :D .