our dodge has 140,000 miles and has just started to over heat. put in a thermoustat (190), and also found a cracked plastic housing on top of the engine, also replaced. it still over heats. I had a friend do this as I was out of town. till fri. we picked it up sat and it overheated on the way to town, any advise would be appreciated.

Just a WAG, have you replaced the timing belt? And if so, did you have the water pump replaced when that was done?

I'm pretty sure that you are over-due on that and your water pump might have failed

What makes you say its overheating? Just the gauge reading or other symptoms?
Is the cooling system able to stay FULL...as in NO air? IF not you have a leak. Small air pockets can make the gauge read hot real easy. They can also cause hot spots in parts of the head.
Are the electric fans coming on?

never had a w pump or timing belt. it is boiling the coolant in the tank (overflow), and the coolant is very dirty now! was clean when he started, and when we redid it today, we also ellevated the front end when we put in the coolanttoday. also did a chemical test on it for head gasket(3) times to be sure, was fine. and a vac test all where fine. I am at a loss. I am very inexperienced with newer cars. also the car is fine on the flat, but temp climes on a hill

The 2.7 is not a timing belt engine, it is a timing CHAIN design. The water pump is driven by the chain and is INSIDE the timing cover. Might wanna check the oil, the oil cap and dipstick for any signs of coolant. If you do find a brown gooey substance inside any of those areas, have the water pump checked ASAP. The chains & guides need to be checked(and probably replaced) at the same time.
Welcome to the world of 2.7 ownership.

I think we need more info here. Did your friend tell you how he installed the thermostat. It could be installed incorrectly, according to the book. More important tho, did your friend "Burp" the system from the bleed valve? If not, this will give an erratic and overheating problem. If not done correctly, more harm could have been done.

we checked the oil and it was ok. I just rechecked it all looks good. I was thinking of the water pump. any way to be sure of this? herd they will ware through the housing! first I have herd of this. but I have little experience with these.

he showed me the print out of the assy procidure. he said he did it correctly. vent hole up. we burped it and double checked it. if this is correct. how do you get all of the air out. I was careful with it when driving it I do not think we hurt it. the fans are coming on at around 210.

ouch! sorry to here about that, glad your OK! sounds like it cuold have been worse. I have had no experience with these 2.7 engines and neither has mike my buddy. H eis very sharp. and has almost every tool in the bizz. he has never had a problem this persistant! and neither have I. I will keep bleasding it and see where it gets me! thanks for the input