Been reading about the 203 stat. Can some of you tell me how it has worked before and after the change? Read that it has increased mileage on some trucks a reasonable amount, 2 mpg. Smoother running, better power. Will this cause problems in the summer, our temps run 100 plus throughout the summer. How about towing? Just installed a Wildman chip and don't want to push temps. Need some up to date views on this stat.
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1997 F350 Crew Cab 4x4, AT, 4.10, drivetrain is all stock. Toyo Open Country A/T 285/65-18 10-ply on Allied Renegade wheels. Snugtop shell. TYMAR Intake. Coated H-Max DP with 4" exhaust. Donaldson resonator and Cat had to be put to sleep. Just turned 49,000 original miles!!!! Best addition-Wildman chip-(just added) Phantom II gauges. Sonnax valve w/ Tri-C springs and Royal Purple in the trans. B&W turnover with Companion 5th wheel. SuperSprings installed.
My truck has a 203 thermostat stock (so I can't comment on before/after stuff) and I've never had a temperature problem. I live in between Bakersfield and Mojave, both of which get just a bit warm in the summertime. I also tow my 5th wheel up the 14 and 395 highways every summer and never have any problems on any of the grades through the Eastern Sierra. Cheers!
I think the biggest difference is in heat. Your cab will be SO much warmer after the 203!
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Kurt
SOLD!!
1997 F350 XL PowerStroke 4WD, ZF-5 w/ South Bend Con OFE Clutch
Regular Cab, Long Bed, SRW, 3L55's, Bilstein shocks, Warn premium hubs
3-inch downpipe/4 inch exhaust w/ Magnaflow muffler and cat
Tymar intake
International Water Pump with integrated filter
Wildman Four-Position Chip; Baby Swamps; D66 turbo with 1.00 housing; SD HPOP
Isspro EV Boost and Pyrometer gauges
285/75R16 E-Rated BFG All Terrain KO's
Rear Disc Brakes from Blackbirds Custom Trucks Pictures of it all...
Thanks for the info. Gotta love this site. I posted this a few minutes ago and I have responses already. Posted about chips and got pointed to Tony. What an excellent choice that was. Looks like I will be changing stats soon. I may have to stop asking questions, it keeps costing me dollars!!! Now I just need to get my gauges and I will be set for a while.
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1997 F350 Crew Cab 4x4, AT, 4.10, drivetrain is all stock. Toyo Open Country A/T 285/65-18 10-ply on Allied Renegade wheels. Snugtop shell. TYMAR Intake. Coated H-Max DP with 4" exhaust. Donaldson resonator and Cat had to be put to sleep. Just turned 49,000 original miles!!!! Best addition-Wildman chip-(just added) Phantom II gauges. Sonnax valve w/ Tri-C springs and Royal Purple in the trans. B&W turnover with Companion 5th wheel. SuperSprings installed.
Set for a while, yeah right, when you get gauges and see that your pyro still has some room to the 1250* mark then you will want some stage 1's then you will want a intercooler, it never ends, unless you can JUST SAY NO, I believe crack would probably cheaper!!! [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img] 48,000 miles WOW Good Luck
Frank
__________________ http://community.webshots.com/user/dieseldutton
1997 F-250 H.D 4X4 CREW CAB SHORT BED, MBRP 4" TURBO BACK, 16K REESE, 3:55, Auto Meter Sport Comp gauges, tri pillar, 11\16\05 BDP STAGE 1 INJECTORS, TS 6 POSITION CHIP, TYMAR INTAKE 3/27/06 B.T.S. , SIRIUS RADIO, BDP IDM, 4" 350 BLOCKS,160,000 SP Exhaust Brake, 7/4/07 6.0 Intercooler, 7/29/07 Blackbirds Customs rear disc 9/11/07 King Pin Dana 60, SKY 3" RSK, V code 5200 lbs SD springs, 10/17/07 Pro Comp Xtreme's 315x75x16 on Pro Comp 1059's 8"x16" 1/27/08 DIY Fuel System, Running on DSE since March 2008
2004 Pitbull Motorsports rigid chopper
121 TP 130rwh 250 avon
04 CRF250 mine
02 CR80 sons
03 XR100 daughters
425 Polaris magnum
500 Polaris sportsman and 300 lakota everyones
1998 27.5 Wilderness 5th wheel
I was on the phone the last week with Dale at Tymar and he strongly recomended staying w/ a stock thermostate, whatever temp rating that may be. He said that the best place to get one is from International. We had a really good conversation about t-stats & such. Call him if you have any questions. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to answer any question you have.
When talking to him I asked him for his opionion on the 203 stat. He said something about them that I had NEVER thought about before. Why is everyone installing big exhaust & big air intakes to lower EGT's & then turning around & installing hotter thermostates? It doesn't make sence. Now from my understanding, when Ford first started putting the powerstroke in trucks, they used the 7.3L(w/ minor changes) that had been previously used in light over the road trucks. As Ford started changing things in their version of the 7.3, they made the stat a little cooler. The reason the 203 was in the 7.3 anyway is because, as it was explained to me, over the road trucks run at lower rpm's b/c of the gearing, thus not creating as much heat. Ours on the other hand run at higher rpm's at cruise speed, equaling higher temps (translating to a "hotter" t-stat is no longer needed).
Now w/ all that said, I hope I didn't confuse anyone.
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His: '95 F350 CrewCab, 3.55 SRW, 5spd std w/ Royal Purple, LUK SMFW, VDO Pillar gauges, Homemade open air intake, 3" Downpipe W/ 4" cat-back exhaust from Tymar, Tunes by DP Tuner, Baby Seat Mod on rear bench, 198K miles. It gets 21-23 mpg consistently (on the highway) and 17 mpg in town. My remaining planned mod list includes Amsoil & electric radiator fans.
Hers: 2004 Chevy Malibu Classic; 2.2Ecotec 4 cylinder. VERY dissapointed in mpg's.
Company Car (Daily Drive): 2007 Chevy Impala, Jet Black
The stock stat is what, 190 degrees? Does 13 degrees even make a difference? I think the only real difference is with in cab heat.
__________________
Kurt
SOLD!!
1997 F350 XL PowerStroke 4WD, ZF-5 w/ South Bend Con OFE Clutch
Regular Cab, Long Bed, SRW, 3L55's, Bilstein shocks, Warn premium hubs
3-inch downpipe/4 inch exhaust w/ Magnaflow muffler and cat
Tymar intake
International Water Pump with integrated filter
Wildman Four-Position Chip; Baby Swamps; D66 turbo with 1.00 housing; SD HPOP
Isspro EV Boost and Pyrometer gauges
285/75R16 E-Rated BFG All Terrain KO's
Rear Disc Brakes from Blackbirds Custom Trucks Pictures of it all...
The stock stat is what, 190 degrees? Does 13 degrees even make a difference? I think the only real difference is with in cab heat. </div></div>
Opens at 192* according to the listing for the Motorcraft thermostat. A difference of 11* is nothing. Actual running temperature will fluctuate way more than that anyway. That the 203* will give 2 MPG more fuel efficiency is wishful thinking IMHO. Regards overheating -- long before coolant temperature becomes unsafe, ANY properly functioning thermostat will be wide open.
i think the 203 stat will give you 2 mpg IF your old stat is bad and not letting the motor run at operating temp
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1997 f-350 4X2 7.3 PSD E4OD AUTO 4.10 Rear CC Dually Run Rotella Synthetic Oil, 150,000 +/- Miles...Came with a Superchips 1705 programmer....Things I've had to do ....Left Front Ball Joints, Air and Fuel Filters, Rear Fuel Tank, CPS, MAP, Cleaned EBP Tube and Sensor Replaced FPR Screen New 3" Downpipe and 4" Exhaust. Shimmed FPR Modified Air Box, Trans Temp Gauge, Boost Gauge, 8 New Glow Plugs. Not Sure What Else Yet...Any Ideas???
2004 Jayco Jayflight 26.5 5th Wheel (Truck pulls it like its not even there)
where should the needle ride on coolant temp gauge? Mine never gets up past the very left edge of the N in normal. Too low? I have always thought that seemed low, but haven't spent the time to explore it yet.
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'97 CC F350 PSD. 4x4. Auto. Black. Wildman 6pos Chip! BB in FPR. KCM HPX from ITP. 3"DP. AFE intake. 3.55's. BFG MT KM2 315/75/16's. Reunel Front and Rear Bumpers. Ford AIC module. Warn HD manual hubs. AutoMeter Z-series gauges on the pilar. <span style="color: red">((Sky RSK w/SD springs and bilsteins waiting in the living room))</span> MY TRUCK PICS!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: banjodog</div><div class="ubbcode-body">where should the needle ride on coolant temp gauge? Mine never gets up past the very left edge of the N in normal. Too low? I have always thought that seemed low, but haven't spent the time to explore it yet. </div></div>
I have the stock t-stat in my truck too...My needle usually lives right around there too, unless I am running up a steep grade and running a little hotter it'll start to creep up.
SOLD!!
1997 F350 XL PowerStroke 4WD, ZF-5 w/ South Bend Con OFE Clutch
Regular Cab, Long Bed, SRW, 3L55's, Bilstein shocks, Warn premium hubs
3-inch downpipe/4 inch exhaust w/ Magnaflow muffler and cat
Tymar intake
International Water Pump with integrated filter
Wildman Four-Position Chip; Baby Swamps; D66 turbo with 1.00 housing; SD HPOP
Isspro EV Boost and Pyrometer gauges
285/75R16 E-Rated BFG All Terrain KO's
Rear Disc Brakes from Blackbirds Custom Trucks Pictures of it all...
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His: '95 F350 CrewCab, 3.55 SRW, 5spd std w/ Royal Purple, LUK SMFW, VDO Pillar gauges, Homemade open air intake, 3" Downpipe W/ 4" cat-back exhaust from Tymar, Tunes by DP Tuner, Baby Seat Mod on rear bench, 198K miles. It gets 21-23 mpg consistently (on the highway) and 17 mpg in town. My remaining planned mod list includes Amsoil & electric radiator fans.
Hers: 2004 Chevy Malibu Classic; 2.2Ecotec 4 cylinder. VERY dissapointed in mpg's.
Company Car (Daily Drive): 2007 Chevy Impala, Jet Black
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: spaceballs</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think the biggest difference is in heat. Your cab will be SO much warmer after the 203! </div></div>
Exactly.
The cab warms up very noticeably faster. Thats why I did it.
Best of Luck,
-Matt
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'97 F-350 CC/LB 7.3L PSD 4x4 4.10's, ~111K miles/ 3-4" Down Pipe hooked to 5" Turnout Stacks, Isspro EV Guages, Tymar, 6 pos. Northern Diesel Performance TS Chip, 7.3 IC, gutted stock fan- w/ single electric fan, Stage 3 DIY Hybrids
In the garage: RacerX Tranny kit, headstuds, 910s, pushrods
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: spaceballs</div><div class="ubbcode-body">With the 203, the needle hovers around the R.</div></div>
that would seem more "normal" to me. In the middle?
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'97 CC F350 PSD. 4x4. Auto. Black. Wildman 6pos Chip! BB in FPR. KCM HPX from ITP. 3"DP. AFE intake. 3.55's. BFG MT KM2 315/75/16's. Reunel Front and Rear Bumpers. Ford AIC module. Warn HD manual hubs. AutoMeter Z-series gauges on the pilar. <span style="color: red">((Sky RSK w/SD springs and bilsteins waiting in the living room))</span> MY TRUCK PICS!
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