Faulty Thermostat???

[authenticy]

I have a 2000 chevy venture that has a heat guage going all the way up to almost 3/4 when sitting in traffic. Took it to the dealer to have the PCM reflashed due to an upgrade that would fix the low idle issue and they said that it was reading 215 on the machine and the guage was between half and 3/4 and that it was normal. My question is this. Before the thermostat and coolant sensor were replaced the van guage NEVER DID THIS, so why now. The other thing is my neighbor has the exact same van (same year and package) and her van does not do this, as a matter of fact hers does what my did before the fix. So how can this be NORMAL?? Could a faulty thermostat do this? The coolant fans don't kick in because they are not supposed to until the engine reaches between 220 and 230 which mine is only getting to about 215 so the engine is not overheating but could the thermostat have anything to do with the guage reading so hot? Thanks in advance... The shop that replaced my thermostat says its not a faulty thermostat but I think they might not want to replace it because it's not an easy replacement. Sorry for the long post, any help is appreciated.

[bleepster]

isnt this the same thread????????????
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=387829

[bleepster]

ALSO - thermostats come in different temperature ratings. perhaps they put one in that has a higher rating. request they change it out with a 195 degree temp rating