I live in central NC. It doesn't get very cold here, but today it was prob. in the low 30s for a change, and when driving my truck the 7 or 8 miles to work it didn't even get close to oporating temp. Also on a cold night if it sits and idles for a while the temp gauge will drop down to just two bars above the cold line. I know the guage is accurate because the heat isn't as hot as when it isn't at normal temps. Is this typical for a 6.5 diesel? Even w/ my fast idle on it want warm back up to normal temp while sitting for a while. Any help would be great!

When was the last time you changed your thermostat and gave it a good cooling system flush? That would be where I would start.

Diesel engines don't generate a lot of heat unless they're working. It takes me 5-10 miles at 40 MPH or over to get near opeating temp. Shorter hops just don't warm it up much. Idling, mine will also drop in temperature. This holds truer in cold weather. If you have the 180 degree thermostat instead of the 195 degree stat, you'll run even cooler in winter.

its been in the teens here in ohio for the last couple of days. i like to put somethin on the grill to block it so it warms up faster. a corn seed bag and two zip ties work for me. leaves 2 inches on the sides of my gmc grill open and the two bumber nostrils. warms up real nice. i dont usually put it on unless it is below 20 F.

the other day i drove my truck for about 20 minutes to warm it up to change the oil. after i got home and crawled under there, i touched the pan and filter and they werent even that warm. by blocking the oil cooler and radiator in the front, it helps get the oil up to operating temp.

Well countrycoach, that actually sounds about right if you don't have any winter cover over the rad. Try mounting some cardboard between the rad and grill just as a temporary fix to see if it warms up quicker when driving. I think someone here already said it but that truck won't make any heat (or not very much) idling, as with any diesel. If that doesn't work, could be the thermostat.

Being -30C daytime high/-40C with the windchill here in the past few days, warming up is the same for me how King Nuzz describes.