hey guys i know its not a 3rd gen but i have a 94 dodge dakota sport for the winter to drive in real good condition... any way its got a 3.9 liter 6 banger in it with a new thermas stat... any way the engine will not warm at alll it get only warm enouph to throw nook warm heat..... the temp gauge will stay at zero for like 30 mins till the engine heats up a tiny bit and it will stay there all day running just hot enouph to throw barely nook warm heat...

again it has a new thermas stat but what else would cause major over cooling issues like this that i should take a look at... lol i need this truck to cart my kid back and forth this winter so i cant have a truck with out heat if was just me i wouldnt care but 18 month olds and no heat in the winter in a truck dont mix so i have to fix this asap.... what is there to look at that would cause over cooling like this. and again it literalytakes 20-30 mins for the engine to heat up barely enouph to put out very nook warm heat no real heat at all but just some what warm air.

im not an expert but the only thing i can think of is a falty thermas stat that is stuck open.... but even stuck open it should get warmer then this... also the truck has a belt driven fan so there is no electric fan kicking on early or anything like that.

 

i'd change the stat again. faulty is not uncommon... in the meantime you could probably put some cardboard in front of your radiator to partially block some of that cold air going thru it.

 

seconded

 

Third vote for a 'stat. If it's gonna be for winter, use one with a 190° or 195° rating

 

i also am having heating up problems with my 92 RS. it has an electric fan that has been wired to run full time though. i know the thermostat works becuase i just bought a brand new (180*) one and put it in. what could be causing my heating up problem? the temp guage barely goes over 120* and i get only 10 mpg on a good warm day.

 

thats part of the problem i would say

edit: also just cuz youre stat is new, it doesnt mean it works. it is very common to buy faulty ones. it might be stuck open all the time.

 

i tested the new thermostat in a cup of hot water and when i took it out it closed all the way shut, the old one didn't. i mean its a little better since i put in the new thermostat in but not by much. how would i go about returning my electric fan back to normal cuz i don't know about the performance i'm getting but my gas milage sucks... oh and sorry to hijack your thread

 

i would do as every one else here said and change your thermostat first if it doesnt work then take off your heater hoses one at the engine and the other at the heater core and try and blow thru it and see if its plugged my 88 gmc had a bad thermostat and a plugged heater core that caused no heat ...all i did was hook up the air blow gun and blow some air into it and unclog it if you figure out that yours is plugged and you dont have the funds to replace it you can try to blow air thru it but be aware that you can blow the side of it out inside of your truck and spew antifreeze all over your carpet ......good luck hope this helps ...