How long before engine temp reaches normal op temp?

[mralaskan]

Hey

My Ram is my first pickup truck and just wanted to check with you guys if what I'm experiencing is normal.
No matter the outside temp, winter or summer, the engine temp doesn't reach its operating temp (which btw on my 2008 Ram doesnt seem to be on the middle mark on the gauge, more like halfway between the cold mark and the middle mark) before I drive for atleast 4 miles at 50-60 mph. And completely regardless whether it's freezing or hot outside. The only times the temp makes it to operating temp earlier than 4 miles is when I idle the car for a few minutes before driving. And maybe this is normal for this truck, I'm just used to with other cars I've driven the same road that they reach operating temp much faster than my Ram.

Hope you understand and I'd be glad for any response.

 

[mralaskan]

The picture shows the gauge when at normal op temp, at idle after driving, the meter doesnt go farther. It moves a little when heavy hauling but otherwise thats the position it always is in.

 

[HemiLonestar]

Guaranteed even after that 4 miles at speed it isn't "up to temp", it's just up to temp enough to move the gauge (the temp gauge in the 3rd gen doesn't really show anything) and allow the trans to have OD available. Letting it warm up a bit helps in these situations though you haven't said how far the drive is. If the engine doesn't get consistently driven far enough hot enough (to evaporate the condensation out of the crankcase) things can start to sludge up, especially if using cheap oil. The important thing (that the engineers don't bother to tell anyone) is getting the oil temp up to where it needs to be.

 

[mralaskan]

I've noticed that when I drive to work, which is only 10 miles, there is a lot of condensed water hanging on the oil refill cap (inside). Which would come from the hot gases inside the crankcase condensating on the cold oil cap. Obviously the drive to work isnt far enough to heat the entire engine space. But I do go on longer drives so I havent had any problems with water in the oil as I can see, and I change oil twice a year.

But regarding the gauge, I would guess the engine temp sensor is just measuring amps in relations to heat so it wouldnt really matter if the gauge needle is stopping at 1/4 och 1/2 of the gauge range as long as it stops and holds it position at operating temp?

Where would be a good spot on the engine to manually measure the temp of engine and oil if the gauge isnt telling so much? It feels like this big engine needs a lot of work before the oil gets hot?

 

[HemiLonestar]

The sensor itself reads actual temp (the PCM uses it) so if you have something that can read off the OBD port you can see what it actually is. I like knowing what both my engine & trans temps are (plus the digital speedo closer to face level is nice) so I went with this:

 

[srv1]

The picture shows the gauge when at normal op temp, at idle after driving, the meter doesnt go farther. It moves a little when heavy hauling but otherwise thats the position it always is in.

My gauge sits in the same spot.I have a 190 t stat.

 

[Rlaf75]

That's about average temp for normal driving

 

[mralaskan]

Where can I get a external reader/sensor for engine oil and or trans and where to install it?

 

[mralaskan]

Extra info:
While driving to work some days, I get an error code P0128 (Coolant temp below thermostat regulating temp) after just a few miles.
The code can be deleted and then wont come back for a while, this happens I think when I start and drive the car without any preheating or idle before driving away.

Thoughts? Is the engine getting hot to slowly?

I tried reading the ECT when I was on idle after driving for 10 miles, the reading was at 87 celsius. Will try to read the ECT while driving from coldstart as well to see when the temp reaches thermostat opening temp.

 

[Choupique]

I've noticed that when I drive to work, which is only 10 miles, there is a lot of condensed water hanging on the oil refill cap (inside). Which would come from the hot gases inside the crankcase condensating on the cold oil cap.

Yea, pretty much. Cold engines have higher blowby and lower cylinder temps also. Once everything is at full operating temp, all of that gets steamed off.

 

[mralaskan]

Hey,
I'm gonna continue this thread since the problem I've had did not get solved.

The temp gauge, for coolant, is (sometimes!) not reacting at all when I start and drive, for the whole trip it does not move. But when I turn off the engine after a drive and restart then the gauge jumps up to the current temp. It's like the gauge needle isnt working. And I wonder, cause I've never pulled apart the dashboard, what is the mechanics of the gauge and how does it move? Electronic signal from the sensor or ECU to the gauge needle? Is the gauge needle replaceable? Temp sensor have been replaced, and still the same phenomenon accurs. Every drive it takes a long time for the gauge needle to reach its right mark, and with the OBD reader I can see though that the temperature is perfectly fine; for example, when the OBD says normal operating temp and you can feel the warm air blowing to defrost the windows, the gauge needle can sometimes still be stuck in "zero" position or beginning to move.

SO, gauge needle very slowly moving, and sometimes not move at all, resulting sometimes in a code (cant remember at the moment exactly but something with coolant temp not reached operating temp). So with the sensor replaced twice and still no improvement, what are the other components between the gauge needle and the sensor?

Many thanks for any response.

 

[mralaskan]

Has no one had this problem before?

Either I get error code P0128 (Coolant temp below thermostat regulating temp) when the gauge needle moving slow
Or
The gauge needle isnt moving at all until I restart the engine

 

[TotallyHucked]

Question. I see you're in Alaska, do you have a winter front on the truck? Or something to block the radiator? Not having that with the extreme temps you guys see will certainly keep the truck too cold.

 

[mralaskan]

Question. I see you're in Alaska, do you have a winter front on the truck? Or something to block the radiator? Not having that with the extreme temps you guys see will certainly keep the truck too cold.

Yes, i do have a paper board blocking the radiator. However, when the engine temp reach normal it stays there and do not sway.
I can only think to replace the temp sensor and thermostat again after the winter is over.
I wonder if the thermostat isn't closed properly, and thus letting cool water circulate while the engine is getting warm. But then again I did monitor the temp through OBD and the temp is actually getting up to normal pretty fast, it's just that the gauge isn't reacting accordingly.

 

[TotallyHucked]

Not uncommon for those gauges to go bad. I believe Mopar used stepper motors in that gen like GM did. Every single 99-07 GM truck needs the gauges rebuilt at some point. I'd do that before I did anything to the engine itself now that you've verified the truck is indeed getting to temp

 

[Dean2]

Get an infrared heat gun, they cost 20 to 40 bucks on Amazon. Check the temperature of the upper hose, lower hose, thermostat housing and block once it is well warmed up. That will tell you what your actual temp is. Once you know that pretty easy to isolate issues. Not knowing that the parts cannon is going to cost time and money.

 

[mralaskan]

Get an infrared heat gun, they cost 20 to 40 bucks on Amazon. Check the temperature of the upper hose, lower hose, thermostat housing and block once it is well warmed up. That will tell you what your actual temp is. Once you know that pretty easy to isolate issues. Not knowing that the parts cannon is going to cost time and money.

Block what?

 

[Dean2]

Block what?

For Pete's sake, the Engine Block.

 

[mralaskan]

For Pete's sake, the Engine Block.

Can't see how that's relevant to why the gauge needle isn't reacting and is stuck at the bottom. Thanks anyway.

 

[RamDiver]

Can't see how that's relevant to why the gauge needle isn't reacting and is stuck at the bottom. Thanks anyway.

I wonder if the thermostat isn't closed properly, and thus letting cool water circulate while the engine is getting warm. But then again I did monitor the temp through OBD and the temp is actually getting up to normal pretty fast, it's just that the gauge isn't reacting accordingly.

I would say the purpose of measuring the block and rad hose temps might be more relevant to understanding whether or not the thermostat is functioning correctly.

I have a digital temperature display and can observe the thermostat opening & closing repeatedly during most driving activities.

.