I read a post about the Flex-A-Lite fans being wired incorrectly and running in the wrong direction. It seems that it eventually fried the fan motors and is not as efficient at cooling. Could your 05 fans be running in the wrong direction? Could it be possible the rad you have has a blockage or some sort of flaw in it?
Is it possible that you have a blockage in the engine somewhere? It is possible for rad hoses to deteriorate and collaspse inside or have bits come off and plug up passages in the engine. Also it is possible that your existing thermostat is faulty and putting in a new one will solve all your problems. I don't see why installing a 180* stat would worsen your problem. You keep an eye on it so try it and find out. Good luck.

 

Well they are still the original hoses so I could try that. I replaced the stat about a month ago, that didn't help. The fans are definitely running in the right direction. I supposr it is possible that the radiator has some blockage, the holes were not sealed in the box and it was packed with styrofoam blocks....maybe one could have broken and gone into the radiator? What would be the best way to check for blockages?

Truck has 97,000 miles.

 

I have the 180 in mine. I tow a 3000 lb boat with it, but have yet to do it with the blower on there. In every day driving it stays around 180 until I sit in traffic. I still need to lower the temp on my fans to compensate, but I didn't have any problem with cooling before the blower install.

 

OK...anyone else have experience with the 180? One says it didn't make a difference, one says it does. Let's hear from everyone else!

 

I used a Hypertech 180* stat for a while with the stock clutch fan...it ran a tick cooler when the weather was cooler or if I drove it mellow, but I was still able to get the temps up over 200 with some agressive driving. The truck ran consistently around 195* with the factory stat, and ran between 188-195* with the 180 stat.

Now with the 160* stat and the efans set to come on at 180* and off at 173*, my temps are pretty much in that window.

 

i awlays thought the thermostat controlled the clutch fan. is this not the case? what does it control then? and can a custom tuner like nelson do more with the tune if you have a lower temp thermostat?

 

I bought the 180 from budhays. I didn't notice any diff in my temps, but figured it may be a needle off (I changed my gauge faces too). It may be a hair cooler, but not noticeable. I'm not sure what temp my fans come on/off at, but I didn't change it, and the fans come on less than they did with the factory t-stat. I guess I'll be changing to a 160* next cam swap

The t-st determines at what temp the coolant in your engine starts flowing thru the engine, it has nothing to do with the fan coming on or going off.

 

oh so it turns on the water pump?
so if i tell the tuner that i have 160 stat then he can program more agressive timing because of less fear of detonation because of colder engine?

 

The thermostat stays closed until a pre-determined temperature, where it does not allow coolant from the radiator to flow into the block, and vise versa. This allows the engine to come up to operating temperature quicker. Once it opens, cooled coolant from the rad enters the engine to help cool it, while the warmer coolant exits the engine to be cooled by the radiator.