Running temp

[kevins750]

My truck 74 620 with L20 swap temp gauge slowly moves to this and then just stays in this spot....Freeway driving or neighborhood cruising, does this seem normal ?...This pic is where it stays...Ambient is maybe 65-70

 

[ggzilla]

It is normal. Mine ran there too. And the owners manual shows it as normal.

 

Ambient temp is irrelevant as the engine thermostat is around 190 degrees.

[Jester]

Yep, mine likes that spot too.

[datzenmike]

Mine runs just under half of that 'run range'

[EricJB]

That's where mine runs with a 195f Tstat. It runs in the middle with a 185f.

[datzenmike]

Ever wonder why car makers don't put numbers on their gauges?  Owners would freak out with the info. Better to dumb it down and just say... if it's in this range it's good. It's way easier to see it it's out of it's normal range that to interpret the numbers.

[banzai510(hainz)]

you can try a 54mm 160deg and see if it goes down.

[datzenmike]

 

The L series need to run at just below boiling.... well 180-190 F. This is where they are designed to run for best performance, mileage and efficiency. Cold engines are inefficient. If an engine is running hot, using a colder thermostat isn't fixing the problem. It seems very very sightly high but if stable, and not climbing and falling is thus well regulated by the thermostat. Seems ok to run like this but some time next spring, throw a new 185F thermostat in it for the summer season. That one may be slightly off.

 

Have someone 'shoot' the thermostat housing with an IR gun. If 185 F or so it's fine.

[banzai510(hainz)]

makse sure the bottom intake hose isnt collasping. I had this happen also. Idle was Ok but on hot days it would rise. Notice when I reved the motor up the hose would sqeeze down. Back in the day the Gates hoses would come with a spring inside to keep this from happening

[MikeRL411]

makse sure the bottom intake hose isnt collasping. I had this happen also. Idle was Ok but on hot days it would rise. Notice when I reved the motor up the hose would sqeeze down. Back in the day the Gates hoses would come with a spring inside to keep this from happening

 

That's why I scavenge the internal spring from any old radiator hose I replace and insert it into the replacement hose [which, given that I have an RL411, I have to cut and fit from some other hose].  And, most Gates hoses had a braid overlay and looked just right!

[kevins750]

Brand new bottom hose but I haven't seen any crushing...Could I have a some blockage in my radiator causing the slightly warmer temp..?

[metalmonkey47]

WOW I always thought that was overheating. Holy crap my truck stays ice cold. I need to go to Nissan and buy a 'stat STAT! 

[Kirden]

My L18 runs there as well. Replaced the 190 with a 185 and it stays in the middle. Always freaks me out cause I have the fan belt break once and almost hit the hot line really fast.

[banzai510(hainz)]

LIke I said you could alwasy buy a 54mm 160deg stat and see if it drops lower. If it does then I would assume the radiator is OK. and its just normal for your truck.

A stat is barely open anyway for most of the time.

 

I oersonally dont like over half way on my vehicles so when warm I monitor it very closely. If the motor is old and gets to hot then a old head gasket may pop.