update on temp switch/ thermostat...
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 294
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From: metro detroit area...
update on temp switch/ thermostat...
I finally got around to doing the job today... not too bad I guess, but they aren't joking around when they say to have the new temp switch ready to put in as soon as you get the old one out... coolant spewed from there like old faithful as soon as i took it out... couldn't see the hole to put the new one in right away and lost about a gallon of coolant in the process. thermostat wasn't as bad because the coolant was already mostly drained to where I needed it (i forgot that step when I started). old thermostat was stuck in the housing pretty good and needed a hammer to remove it. I put a thermostat in that operates at a lower temp so the gauge still is on the cool side but not as much as it was before. I also picked up a flowmaster 44 offroad muffler today for free... so looking forward to big noise and pissing off the neighbors at five am when I leave for work... thanks for all the tips and help
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 721
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From: Four Corners, MT
Holy ish! You needed a hammer to get it out?
My temperature sending unit spouted a little bit the other day because I didn't remember to take off the radiator cap.
Glad to hear you got it all done, no leaks?
My temperature sending unit spouted a little bit the other day because I didn't remember to take off the radiator cap.
Glad to hear you got it all done, no leaks?
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2009
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From: metro detroit area...
no leaks... let it warm up for about twenty minutes with the rad cap off to get rid of the air bubbles... and to fill it back up when the air came out... then capped it and drove around for about twenty minutes... no leaks so far. have almost a quarter million miles on the old girl and it was probably the original thermostat so it was stuck in pretty good... the old gasket just kind of cracked away and turned to dust when i took it off. one question though... what is the thing above the thermostat housing where the sensor is... looks like the feed and return lines for the heater core are coming out of it, that was rusted up pretty bad, I almost started taking that off before i found the temp switch under the wiring harness for the distributor
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 6,473
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From: Lafayette, IN
What temperature of thermostat did you put in? The computer on these trucks may not go into closed-loop mode with a cooler thermostat, resulting in poor mileage due to the rich mixture during warm-up.
Jason
Jason
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2009
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From: metro detroit area...
i think the one i put in is 186 degree and the factory one was 190 something... so its only about ten degrees or so. And yes that is the part i'm talking about with the sensor in it... you think that thermostat is going to give me trouble? I ran it for a while and it seemed fine... drove it for a while then let it cool down then drove it again... didn't seem like the mileage was different and didn't run poorly... didn't notice any gas fumes in the exhaust either cause I was down there looking at how to cut my muffler off at one point
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2009
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From: metro detroit area...
just checked the part number on autozone's web site... the one I have operates at 180 degrees and the one that is factory replacement operates at 192 degrees... shouldn't be a big deal right? I guess we'll see
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Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 9,557
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From: Concord, NC
I ran a 180° thermostat for several years before switching to a 192° thinking it was causing problems with my MAF swap. Didn't make any noticeable difference in performance or fuel economy, so I wouldn't worry about it.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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I had a 180 T stat in mine for a while. It ran rich, got poor gas milage, and failed sniffer test. It ran so rich that when I would get on the throttle black smoke came out the tail pipes. I put the 190 or 195 or whatever it was back in and passed sniffer and everything was back to normal.