Odd coolant temps

[Ramwow]

So I’m new to the ram world last truck was an 04 silverado I tricked out.

That being said I have now a clean AF 2012 5.7L crew cab express 4x4 and I love it yes it’s less fuel economy but it’s way more comfortable to drive and feels quicker stock than my Chevy did.

The thing is I’m getting coolant temperatures that are in my opinion very low 171-175 F after driving quite awhile is that normal or is my clutch fan just running constantly.

I bought it used and last guy had a spread sheet of parts he had replaced, cams valves rockers almost all the top end, oil pump and water pump. I have considered the v6 Efan swap just to see if that changes anything if my clutch fan runs constantly won’t that cause premature failure of the pump and a loss of fuel economy I think I’m averaging around 13.6-14.2 mpg depending on areas I’m driving it seemed rather low considering what it’s rated for I also already put a K&N cold intake on it and it’s running aftermarket alloy rims and 265/70r17 Michelins just got put on.

 

[Treburkulosis]

Welcome! We always say its not the MPG its the smiles per gallon. Not sure on the outside temps there, but it could have a cooler T stat that is keeping the temps down. I average around 15 in my 12. It is just what it is. Mine sits around 200 with the stock t stat in it.

 

[Ramwow]

So not a real bid deal that it’s running 30-28 F cooler I got it when it was still in the 70s outside was running the same temp then and has stayed the same after driving 30-130 miles in one go now that it’s even cooler also noticed it take awhile to warm up now that it’s colder outside but it always stays at 1/4 temp on the gauge and checked with a scanner and usually reads the same or slightly lower

 

[turkeybird56]

Sounds like a lower T Stat for sure. Maybe other goodies there but definitely a lower T stat. Kinda sounds like a 180 is in there instead of the OEM higher ones. Heck, there may even be a 160 in there. FWIW, if U live in a area that gets pretty "cool", U may want to call the person U got truck from or look and see if he has annotated it on the "spread sheet", and see if he changed out the stat and go for a higher temp one. BUT this is internet guessnosis at it's worst. FWIW, I looked it up and stock T Stat for a 2012 Ram 1500 is 195 degrees.

CAVEAT: Not a mechanic, just guessnosis, lol. The mileage with all the changes looks ok. TREB U would have to chime in ref the MPG on the 12's. The last thing I had in those years was a 2010 F150 with the 5.4 Triton, great running truk but monster rolling gas pump hugger.

 

[Ramwow]

I’m located in Mid west Indiana we barely get cold here I’m my opinion for long really 20-30s most winter maybe a month in the teens but I daily drive a work truck so I usually only put 5-8k miles on my vehicles a year but I do some towing in the winter and was wondering if that lower running temp would cause issues I figured just let it run a bit in the winter before doing any towing

 

[Treburkulosis]

So not a real bid deal that it’s running 30-28 F cooler I got it when it was still in the 70s outside was running the same temp then and has stayed the same after driving 30-130 miles in one go now that it’s even cooler also noticed it take awhile to warm up now that it’s colder outside but it always stays at 1/4 temp on the gauge and checked with a scanner and usually reads the same or slightly lower

Defiantly sounds like a cooler t stat. 160-180 range. At least its running cool not hot.

 

[Treburkulosis]

Sounds like a lower T Stat for sure. Maybe other goodies there but definitely a lower T stat. Kinda sounds like a 180 is in there instead of the OEM higher ones. Heck, there may even be a 160 in there. FWIW, if U live in a area that gets pretty "cool", U may want to call the person U got truck from or look and see if he has annotated it on the "spread sheet", and see if he changed out the stat and go for a higher temp one. BUT this is internet guessnosis at it's worst. FWIW, I looked it up and stock T Stat for a 2012 Ram 1500 is 195 degrees.

CAVEAT: Not a mechanic, just guessnosis, lol. The mileage with all the changes looks ok. TREB U would have to chime in ref the MPG on the 12's. The last thing I had in those years was a 2010 F150 with the 5.4 Triton, great running truk but monster rolling gas pump hugger.

My 04.5 5.4 3v wasn't fond of gas either. It was about the same as the Ram, but with a lot less power. Great trucks for sure. It did really good tho from DFW to Austin trips. I could get over 20 in it.