Eratic engine temps. 5.7 c2500

[beans33]

First off I want to say I am new to the forum and new to the Chevy truck world. I purchased a 2000 c2500 crew cab not long ago. I replaced the fuel pump and fuel spider. It started now but ran hot. The decision then was to replace the radiator, t-stat and water pump, that didnt help. I then got the head gaskets replaced as well as the intake gaskets by a reputable shop. After all this, the truck runs great. My problem is the truck gets to around 235 degrees driving or idleing then will fall back to the 215 range. I know I'm new but this seems a little hot. It definetly bothers me looking at the gauge and its sitting 3/4 way over. I've tried to get all the air out and thought about trying another t-stat. There are no electric fans, just the clutch fan. How accurate are the stock temp gauge ? When it is that hot, I will point my laser thermometer on the t-stat housing and its at 170 degrees. I've spent a good amount of money already I'm just tired of throwing money at it. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

[Carder09]

Fan clutch could be bad. To check, you can run the truck to operating temp then have someone look at the fan when you shut the truck off. If it still spins after engine off, its bad. It should stop when your engine stops turning.

[txab]

+1 on checking the fan clutch for proper operation. Hook up a scanner that can read live info from the ECM and see what temp is being reported. The gauge reading could be off

[Jsdirt]

Just had the exact same truck here overheating for that same reason. Popped hood and observed the fan at a standstill at idle. Seems someone installed the lower shroud wrong, and with a bad fan clutch, caused the fan to remain stationary. 260° when it got here.

 

Just FYI, 215° is considered normal these days. My '07 1500 with the 5.3 stays there whether driving around town, or with a severely overloaded 12k lb. (don't try this at home) trailer behind it.

[beans33]

Thanks fir the quick responses. I will check all of that out.