OT Dodge Dakota doesn't warm up.

I have a 97 Dakota with a V-6, 5 speed. Winter is coming and this truck hardly gets warm enough to defrost the windows. I had the cooling system flushed, new antifreeze and 195 degree thermostat put in last year and it made no difference. Doesn't matter if you run it for 15 minutes or for an hour, the temp guage never gets above about 150 or 160 degrees. I have covered most of the radiator with cardboard and it didn't help much. Any ideas, anyone else have this problem? I drive it to work, and in the winter I start it about 10 minutes before I leave and still have to scrape the windows. Even in the summer, air conditioning on and running 75 down the highway the temp guage stays about the same place. Help, I freezing, Chris

Looks like a Bad Thermostat
I would bet there are made in China,
look for a quality one.

Buy another thermostat from a different auto parts store. I have one of those 195 degree themostat on old Mercury Cougar and it will furnish plenty of heat. Had to pull the distributor to get to the old one. Hal

Before installing a new thermostat I put it in a pan of water on the stove and check the operation with a suitable thermometer. TDF

if your engines not warming it is unrestricted try a new thermostat and test it before you put this one in happens quite often new tstats and plugs should always be checked.

Super99, the consensus is a bad thermostat and I'm thinking thats quite possible.My truck wouldn't warm up but it was a heater core that was partially blocked up.It had to be flushed. Now I know you had that done but it could still have enough stuff in that heater core that it should be done again. Thats easy by undoing the two lines to the core and blowing them out with the garden hose and some air. I have had thermostats fail and I have installed bad ones..thats a good starting point. Also check the hoses to the heater core, I have seen them collapse inwards and cause blockage especially where they bend. New hoses aren't expensive by the foot. Carquest also carries a product that will dissove sludge and corrosion in the cooling system but tht requires a full flush, you could get the flush into the heater core only using a funnel, let it sit for a while and flushing it with the garden hose. Good luck

The others have covered it well- bad thermostat , plugged heater core. Heater core may also be airloc ked. When flushing the cooling system heat control needs to be "on" = it may not stay on when key is off on newer vehicles. If the gauge shows low temp that would point to thermostat. Another thought is - ck your fan , is it running all the time ? If the truck has an electric fan or clutch fan it shouldnt run full blast when cold.

Like others have said before it could be a bad stat. BUT even though you had the system flushed on a truck that old myself i am leading to to the heater core being pluged . With the honey comb design they do not flush out like you think they do . So unless you reverse flush them they just plug tighter. and if it is plugged tight enough she will not unplug. BTDT . Now not being and expert on the Dakota just yet as i am still looking for one for myself . I am not sure if the heater core is a free flow or if it has a valve to shut off the water flow or just uses a door in the heater box to flow air past or thru the core . IF it has a valve your would not be the first to go bad and not open with the control cable . And if it uses a door in the box to control the air flow then here again are you sure that the door is opening and closing . You can reverse flush it yourself by removing the two hoses and the hose that comes off the highest point BEFORE THE STAt is the hot water hose and the one that goes into a fitting closest to the water pump is the return . So hook up to the one that is the return with a garden hose to hot water if ya can and run the water back thru it that way and see all the junk that will come out the other hose . IF you only have a trickle or no flow then , yep it is time for a new core. Now if it does clear out ya may get by for a while BUT The down side of all that junk plugging the core in one spot has rotted it on the inside and yep she will start to leak at some pointBTDT also . As to how hard it is to replace the core , don't know the easiest core i ever replaced was on my 88 Ford F 350 as all ya had to do was drop the glovebox remove a few screws and take the hoses off and in 30 min. and two beers it was done .

Chris,i have already had a couple in the shop down here.I have had to disconnect the hoses from the heater core itself and then flush the core.Just use a regular garden hose with a nozzle attached.You will be able to see the crap when it comes out of the core.I would not flush with air unless,you turn the pressure down to about 35 to 40 psi.You could damage the heater core with more.A regular radiator flush with 12 to 15 lbs. of pressure is not enough to dislodge the crap in the system.Do this and make sure that the system is full of coolant and the recovery tank is at the fill line also.I bet you will have heat then.

If the temp never gets above 160 it is most likely the thermostat. I would change it again or at least pull it out and put it in a pan of water and heat it to check it. I had one do that and replaced the stat and it did the same thing, I drove it that way for years and then decided I was going to fix it or get rid of it so I replaced the stat again and it was fixed. New parts can be bad.

unless the stat is stuck open,its not the stat.most car makers have changed from a gasket to a slit rubber ring that goes around the stat.if that ring is not there then the coolant will pass by the stat and will not warm up enough

Had similar problems with Chevy Blazer. Mechanic ran all kinds of tests on engine with engine analyzer. Finally as last resort backflushed heater core with garden hose. Presto - instant heat! HAve done that once since, last year, improved performance of heater again. Aslo flushed cooling system and new anti-freeze. Dexcool leaves a lot to be desired!

I would flush the heater first, that temp is close to your house hws and that should throw some heat.. 3/4 boiling. that's the easier option, if it doesn't work, try the thermostat, of course it may be the incorrect number.

A new radiator cap might help, too. But I would go with the thermostat. The thermo-viscous fan clutch could be bad, too. It shouldn't sound like a jet engine taking off when you rev it up and it's still cold.