02' Duramax temp

[Earthscapes]

Ok, i'm a diesel virgin as most of you know, so I may have some dumb questions.

I finally got around to putting the 02' on the road yesterday. Anyway after driving around (30 degrees out) the coolant temp is in the middle of the 160 & 210, so I'm guessing around 180 as the gauge doesn't tell me exactly.
Problem is i'm cold. It gets heat, but nothing really hot, like my 6.0L gasser. I was thinking about a grill cover, but wanted to ask you pros first :).

Or is this wrong and something I should look into more.

Thanks,
Keith

[cat320]

Well i don't know about the D-Max but my powerstroke heats up real quick now my 7.3 liters takes about a 1/2 hour before it gets hot .You could put a cover in front to help the heater to get warm qicker . I wounder if you just don't have a bad thermostate.

[S Kennedy]

My 04 Dmax takes a while to heat up....about 10 mins but then it is great.

[Earthscapes]

Guess I should of put in more info my bad oops.. This is after driving around all day. It will not go above the 180 mark. I'm just trying to figure out if this is right or wrong.
My friends 05' Ford runs around 210 and gets awesome heat.

[GLS]

If it is less than about 30 degrees outside, our truck usually won't get any hotter than 180. We use a winter front (we have an stainless aftermarket one, but you can get one of the factory vinyl ones also) and it keeps the temps up closer to 200. We don't use it when it in the 40s (and 30s usually).

[RibbleConstruction]

The problem with blocking the front end is that you might make it more difficult for the transmission to stay cool. You dont want the transmission running hot for sure. I have a Cummins and i never have problem with heat. I wonder if a new thermostat would help.

[Earthscapes]

Thanks guys,
I'll change the thermostat today.

[Earthscapes]

Changed it. Heat is much better and temp is up about 10 degrees on the gauge.

Now if the dealer takes care of my other problem, the "brake ABS recall" i'll have a great start to the first week of spring.

[ratlover]

I run an aftermarket stainless winter front on my chevy because its 2 peice on them and you can leave the bottom 1/2 off and still get air to the trans cooler when plowing. If you try to run the factory winter front with the plow I have found that it does funky things and the winter front dosnt stay put.

Make sure you bleed your trucks coolant good! Id bleed it again for giggles after you drive it a bit.