Thermostat

[rodneyw71]

I have a 90 Dakota with a 3.9, I'm going to change the thermostat in it the parts store gave me a 195 deg. He told me thats what most cars have in them, I thought it was 180. It don't need changed but it'a got almost 130000 on it and has never been changed and I drive an hour to work and don't want to take a chance. My brother told me he runs a 160 in his camaro, will the 195 hurt anything?

[rodneyw71]

Nevermind I went on Dakota forums and i guess they came with a 195, I looked on a back post about it. I hate posting on there alot of the times you never get a straight answer.

[Lee'sdaytona]

thats because they are not turbo-mopar people!
The computer at advanced said my 2.2 used a 195. I too thought that stock was 180....
-Lee

[SteveReject]

Turbo cars like the colder 180* but the stock is usually 195. Don't go any lower than 180* though, only some cars can handle it.

-Steve Reject

1992 Chrysler Lebaron GTC (http://www.cardomain.com/id/1992lebarongtc)
K&N Cold Air Intake, 15* Ignition Timing, 52mm Throttle Body, 2.5" catback, MSD Coil,Taylor 8mm wires, NGK Plugs, HD Trans Cooler, Aluminum Radiator, A-Spec Strut Tower Bar, Falken ZE-512 205/55/16

[BadAssPerformance]

True, all the stock calibrations are set for 192*-195* and will probably get the best gas mileage at that too. On a turbo car, the colder 180* t-stat will add additional fuel which helps uder boost.

On an N/A motor, like that Dakota, it wont help unless you have additional mods causing it to run hotter and want to help cool it or if you tow with it or something.

[rodneyw71]

I have a Dakota and a newyorker and I know I should go to the forums for those vehicles, but it seems most people on here know something about all Mopars. I'll bet you if you had a Mustang or a Camaro somebody on here could tell you how to fix it. Thanks for your help.

[rodneyw71]

I changed the thermostat in the Dakota the temp gauge would never come off cold and the heat took a while to get hot. Now the temp gauge stays at about one quater, but my question is when I start it up and drive down the road it will go to three quaters hot and go back to normal and stay there. Is this normal the truck was used maybe somebody put a 180 in there and me putting the 195 made it do it. The heat is very hot now, I just don't want anything to be messed up.

[turbovanman²]

I changed the thermostat in the Dakota the temp gauge would never come off cold and the heat took a while to get hot. Now the temp gauge stays at about one quater, but my question is when I start it up and drive down the road it will go to three quaters hot and go back to normal and stay there. Is this normal the truck was used maybe somebody put a 180 in there and me putting the 195 made it do it. The heat is very hot now, I just don't want anything to be messed up.

Thats normal, what is happening is it needs to get slightly hotter for the thermostat to open, so the guage reads high, then it opens and bam, it drops. To help stop it if thats an issue for you is to drill a 1/16 bleed hole in the thermostat.

[3nglenn]

I've seen this happen with a lot of chrysler products, so I wouldn't consider it abnormal. You may have an air pocket in the system which could account for the temperature drop delay, and/or since the vehicle is used the radiator may have seen better days. You might want to try drilling a tiny hole (1/16") towards the outside of the thermostat, helps bleed the air off when the vehicle is cold as the fluid will flow (slightly) when the vehicle is cold, but not so much as to keep it from getting up to temperature. Good luck and keep us posted. G.P.

Simon ^^^ types faster than me!:nod:

[rodneyw71]

Thanks for the help.