I was wondering if my engine should run this hot after driving for about ten minutes. After replacing the radiator and thermostat . I put in a durlast thermostat.

 

Not too hot......... if the gauge is accurate.
These gauges were never too accurate, and now they are 20+ years old.
Get and use an IR temp gun, and see what is really going on.
Peace of mind is a wonderful thing.

 

Use a thermometer to check the temp of the upper rad hose and top of the radiator.
Stock gauges are not the most accurate.

 

Ok . One thing is after driving for 10 minutes I can't lay my hand radiator or engine. Is that normal?

 

With a thermostat installed, coolant enters the top of the radiator @ 180'f+.

This is too hot to lay your hand on for more than the shortest touch.

Generally speaking, if the cooling system is full of liquid, and the coolant does'nt boil over, the engine is not dangerously hot.

 

Meant to say one other thing. Coolant reservoir was empty the other day. Is that bad or good?

 

After you drain and refill the system it will sometimes empty the reservoir as it slowly purgues out bubbles. I would suggest checking and filling it to the "full" line when cold for at least 3 heat cycles. If it keeps pulling a lot out of the reservoir after a few heat cycles then you have a leak somewhere.

 

if your heat working? might be a simple air pocket. those cheap thermostats never have a bleeder nipple in them so i drill a real small hole in them to help with air pockets.

 

+1 for using more accurate temp gauge & monitoring reservoir level.

Gage alone while driving is not a good indicator. The weekend my head gasket blew, I was driving in 3-digit temps in San Bernardino County and noticed my gage reading lower than normal. I thought that maybe because I was at freeway speed. Alas! The night we drove out of the trail head, she overheated, and I found out HG had blown. Theory behind the low gauge reading is because of blown HG, coolant was overflowing while I was driving so when I stopped, there was no clue on the ground. Coolant level had gone so low so it was not touching the temp sender anymore.

I'm considering installing one that actually reads numbers (°F), with temp sender installed lower on the engine block so it would always read coolant level even when level goes low. potential location for temp sender is port just below and to right of freeze plug on right on this Photo Courtesy of Chefyota4x4.

+1 for oldblue ... talking about the jiggle valve

 

Looks to me like it's right dead center in the middle of the range, where it's supposed to be. Mine gets to that point in about 5 minutes and then stays there for the rest of whatever trip I'm taking. That's the mark of a well regulated system.

As was said, if you're not boiling water out, the engine isn't running so hot as to damage it. Keep in mind that too cold isn't a good thing, either. It results in poor fuel vaporization and less than optimal lubrication.

Unless you're continuing to lose coolant, I see nothing to worry about.

 

That is exactly where my normal reading is, about 1 needle width above horizontal. If you continue to lose coolant you better figure out where it's going.

 

My papaw said something about coolant going out the exhaust or a bad thermostat.

 

That truck ain't up on CL is it?

 

If you mean craigslist yeah . I think I'm going to take the truck to my grandparents house some time this week to fix the oil gasket. I think my oil is is making my engine run to hot. Due to not change it because of the oil gasket . I read in the manual that in proper grade can make over heat. Is that true or not?

 

Oil making the engine over heat? That's a new one…

 

With engine cold, and radiator cap off, watch if coolant is splashing/bubbling in radiator really badly, not just from vibration. That would indicate bad HG.

Also, with radiator cap known to be absolutely good, there should be no bubbling of coolant into the reservoir.

Myth.

Maybe if it's Extremely IMProper grade, like using 80W-90 gear oil in engine - LOL!

 

There were a few bubbles for like 30 seconds then stop.

 

You can also stretch a balloon over the fill neck, and if it inflates, you have a problem

 

Hmm, never heard of that one. Sounds like it might work though.

 

I try the balloon idea.