might be a dumb question but on these models the thermostat goes in with the spring towards the water pump, correct? I am having an issue with mine not opening and tested it out in boiling water before installing and saw it open but it is not opeing when car gets hot, lower radiator tube is cool to touch even when car reading past half way on temp gauge.

 

Does it open at all? Does it stay closed at no matter what temp the engine gets to. You may want to try a thermostat with a lower temp setting.

 

Not that I can tell, it gets hot enough for fan to kick on but the hose on the back side of thermostat is cool to the touch, I got a 180 in there I picked up for advance auto. I put it in boiling water to watch it open before installing as well

 

on another note, i ordered a acdelco one and going to swap out to see if thats the fix, read several posts that say go oem on these

 

The t-stat uses the water returning from the heater core to open. It takes FULL FLOW to open right. See your other post and follow my road threw h*** to get it working