180 or 190 Thermostat

ramffml · May 2, 2023

Towing season is right around the corner. Still not happy with the temps I'm seeing in my truck unloaded, and also the pinging/knocking I get when temps get higher (never hear a ping when it's cold). I've already remove the active grill shutters but to be honest that just seems to lower my starting/normal temps by a few degrees but when the temps begin to climb it doesn't seem to help anymore at that point.

So I want to try a thermostat next. Can anyone recommend a good candidate? And @Wild one would you think a 180 is too cold for winters in Canada if I "never" see outside temps below -20C where I live?

I watched a video on how to replace it, looks much easier than I thought. Looks like they just clamped the hose down near the thermostat, pulled out two bolts, swapped and put the bolts back in. Some other questions I have:
- do these have a specific orientation (like is there a top/bottom to these thermostats)
- after the new one is in, do you put more antifreeze back in the rad or the overflow
- no issues with air getting into the system there?
- any other tips?

I don't do much wrenching as you can tell.

I-30 · May 2, 2023

Is your fan running?

Wild one · May 2, 2023

There's a bleed hole /jiggle pin that goes to the top. A 190 might be better for you,or you can swap the 180 out in the fall and put the stock 203 in for the winter.Swapping thermostats isn't hard,and by no stretch is it a permanent mod,plus gives you a chance to refresh the anti-freeze twice a year.I'm not sure why everybody thinks a thermostat swap is a permanent mod,lol

ramffml · May 2, 2023

I-30 said:
Is your fan running?

It does run yes. I hear it when "parked" in a drive through waiting for the Karen in her suburban ordering takeout for her entire bus load and her dogs + goldfish instead of just getting out ... where was I. Yes the fan does work.

ramffml · May 2, 2023

Wild one said:
There's a bleed hole /jiggle pin that goes to the top. A 190 might be better for you,or you can swap the 180 out in the fall and put the stock 203 in for the winter.Swapping thermostats isn't hard,and by no stretch is it a permanent mod,plus gives you a chance to refresh the anti-freeze twice a year.I'm not sure why everybody thinks a thermostat swap is a permanent mod,lol

Didn't know about the bleed hole so that's a great tip!

I just rather not go through that twice a year. Apparently aluminum threads too so there's that. I might try the 190 then.

Can you recommend a part on amazon?

chopperman1 · May 2, 2023

Perhaps I'm missing something, but how does adding a 180 t-stat lower your towing/loaded temperature? Sure it will open earlier, but won't do anything for towing. Higher capacity water pump or stronger fan only thing I see to lower towing temps.

ramffml · May 2, 2023

chopperman1 said:
Perhaps I'm missing something, but how does adding a 180 t-stat lower your towing/loaded temperature? Sure it will open earlier, but won't do anything for towing. Higher capacity water pump or stronger fan only thing I see to lower towing temps.

That's my understanding as well. It just lowers your starting temp, but if you find another hill that takes a little longer to climb then your temps will still hit the same peaks you had before.

In my case it's just one more step in the right direction. I might end up going for an after market oil cooler if I keep the truck long enough.

It might also help with reduced knocking/pinging when just daily driving. AGS delete already made a difference with that.

Wild one · May 2, 2023

ramffml said:
Didn't know about the bleed hole so that's a great tip!

I just rather not go through that twice a year. Apparently aluminum threads too so there's that. I might try the 190 then.

Can you recommend a part on amazon?

Put a little anti-seaze on the bolt threads and don't cross thread them and you can swap the thermostat twice a year till you get rid of the truck.Go to your local auto parts store like Napa / Bumper to Bumper etc. and tell them you want either a 190 or 180 if you decide on a 180 for a 05 truck,if you tell them it's for 19 they'll tell you they don't have one.They've used the same thermostats since they started putting the 5.7's in the trucks in 03.
Or use this Stant number for a 180 and they can cross referance it to the brand they carry.

Stant #48798 is a 180

Bigskyroadglide · May 2, 2023

Here is a 190 part number

Wild one · May 2, 2023

ramffml said:
That's my understanding as well. It just lowers your starting temp, but if you find another hill that takes a little longer to climb then your temps will still hit the same peaks you had before.

In my case it's just one more step in the right direction. I might end up going for an after market oil cooler if I keep the truck long enough.

It might also help with reduced knocking/pinging when just daily driving. AGS delete already made a difference with that.

If you decide on a 190 use Bigsky's number at your local auto parts store,and they can cross referance it to their brand.Before i forget make sure you open the box up and check to see if it has the rubber gasket,most come with the gasket,but i've ran into the odd one that didn't have it. You can always re-use the gasket off your original thermostat if needed,which i've done,but it's nice to also have the gasket already installed

ramffml · May 2, 2023

Wild one said:
If you decide on a 190 use Bigsky's number at your local auto parts store,and they can cross referance it to their brand.Before i forget make sure you open the box up and check to see if it has the rubber gasket,most come with the gasket,but i've ran into the odd one that didn't have it. You can always re-use the gasket off your original thermostat if needed,which i've done,but it's nice to also have the gasket already installed

This probably works a lot better if we also adjust our fan speeds, correct? If so, is that something that HP tuners can do easily? I have an electric fan, not sure if that works any differently than your 4th which I believe is still mechanical.

Wild one · May 2, 2023

ramffml said:
This probably works a lot better if we also adjust our fan speeds, correct? If so, is that something that HP tuners can do easily? I have an electric fan, not sure if that works any differently than your 4th which I believe is still mechanical.

It'll still give you benefits even with out adjusting the fans,but if you have the capability of adjusting them via HP by all means do.As soon as you're moving above probably about 30 or 40 clics,the airflow across the rad should start to cool it down. For a 190 t-stat,you'll probably want the fan to cycle on somewhere in the 205 / 206 range,and off at probably about 201 / 202,any lower then that might keep the fans running constantly

Wild one · May 2, 2023

We're sitting right around 26C,so my project after supper is to throw the summer 180 T-stat in the 300 tonight.
You made me think about it today,lol

Barney556180 · May 8, 2023

Not sure which front grill you have. The horizontal bar grill flows less air than the mesh grill. I swapped to an OEM mesh and have seen 5-6 degree average drop from my previous bar grill. You can buy mesh inserts that replace the bars, or buy a complete grill.

Dusty · May 8, 2023

ramffml said:
Towing season is right around the corner. Still not happy with the temps I'm seeing in my truck unloaded, and also the pinging/knocking I get when temps get higher (never hear a ping when it's cold). I've already remove the active grill shutters but to be honest that just seems to lower my starting/normal temps by a few degrees but when the temps begin to climb it doesn't seem to help anymore at that point.

So I want to try a thermostat next. Can anyone recommend a good candidate? And @Wild one would you think a 180 is too cold for winters in Canada if I "never" see outside temps below -20C where I live?

I watched a video on how to replace it, looks much easier than I thought. Looks like they just clamped the hose down near the thermostat, pulled out two bolts, swapped and put the bolts back in. Some other questions I have:
- do these have a specific orientation (like is there a top/bottom to these thermostats)
- after the new one is in, do you put more antifreeze back in the rad or the overflow
- no issues with air getting into the system there?
- any other tips?

I don't do much wrenching as you can tell.

Forgive me if you've been through this before, but what spark plugs are in the engine? Also, are you experiencing ping on 89 octane?

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 89259 miles.

Sherman Bird · May 8, 2023

ramffml said:
Towing season is right around the corner. Still not happy with the temps I'm seeing in my truck unloaded, and also the pinging/knocking I get when temps get higher (never hear a ping when it's cold). I've already remove the active grill shutters but to be honest that just seems to lower my starting/normal temps by a few degrees but when the temps begin to climb it doesn't seem to help anymore at that point.

So I want to try a thermostat next. Can anyone recommend a good candidate? And @Wild one would you think a 180 is too cold for winters in Canada if I "never" see outside temps below -20C where I live?

I watched a video on how to replace it, looks much easier than I thought. Looks like they just clamped the hose down near the thermostat, pulled out two bolts, swapped and put the bolts back in. Some other questions I have:
- do these have a specific orientation (like is there a top/bottom to these thermostats)
- after the new one is in, do you put more antifreeze back in the rad or the overflow
- no issues with air getting into the system there?
- any other tips?

I don't do much wrenching as you can tell.

Bigger radiator.

ramffml · May 8, 2023

Dusty said:
Forgive me if you've been through this before, but what spark plugs are in the engine? Also, are you experiencing ping on 89 octane?

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 89259 miles.

Still on factory plugs, it pings worst on 87, less on 89, but still pings on 91 especially when it's at operating temp.

I don't want to overly dramatize it, it's not pinging like crazy, but I just don't want to hear any if possible.

crazykid1994 · May 9, 2023

The 5th gen should run variable speed. Go with the 190° and if you have the capability see if you can set fan on speed to 190° for 10-15% fan speed and then 195° to 30% and so on. Not sure if hp can do that. I towed my fathers boat and got up to 200°f on the bridge leaving the boat ramp. Mine is set 50% fan speed at 200°f but I run a standalone controller for the fan on my 4th gen. I run the 190° stant tstat. The 5th gen electric fan is a great fan. There is the 850w larger fan if you really need to swap to a larger cooling fan but I only have the 600w version and it is more than enough for me in south Florida so far

ramffml · May 9, 2023

There are some good ideas here, I'm going to get a tstat first and see how that does. Still deciding 180 vs 190, I'd prefer the 180 but worried that the truck is programmed to sit at 203 and will do something silly like burn more fuel to heat it up until it reaches that temp, or that maybe I'll get problems with condensation or fuel in my oil etc. This is all new to me and I've read differing reports but not sure where the truth is all this.

crazykid1994 · May 9, 2023

The thermostat does not change your peak temp point. It just makes it take longer to get there. For some that’s long enough to crest the hill before hitting the same peak temp. It also does not cool down faster as cooling ability is all controlled by fan and radiator. The stock radiator and fan are decent in the rams. The only benefit would be to swap up to the larger cooling fan. You can try doing research to see if the larger fan is a direct fit onto the radiator as that would help more than swapping the thermostat. Especially if you are not planning on tuning.

180 or 190 Thermostat

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Don't need no stinkin' mask...

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