Removing Thermostat

[businesstrader]

Chatting with someone today who told me that removing the thermostat from housing would help keep my 302 run cooler.

Is this true? Is this ok to do?

[mwizz]

I was advised not to do this. When I had overheating problems I got my radiator cleaned out and then put in a brand new thermostat.

[smackdownz]

sure,  is  ok to do(car will obviously take longer to get to correct operating temp)  but soooo much talk and debate about this on the internet,  if your having cooling problems and want  to do something with the thermostat maybe try drilling a hole in it first before removing it completely

[scollist]

Thermostats open at a nominated temp (160 degrees normally for a 289, but 170 or 180 can be had).

Once the thermostat opens it then lets coolant circulate.

By removing it all you are really doing is replacing it with a thermostat that opens at 0 degrees (or whatever the cold temp is).  From then it is just letting the coolant circulate in exactly the same way.

So by removing it - do you think it is going to stop it getting to the overheat position?

The only argument that could be had is that removing it allows the coolant to flow better, but a decent functional thermostat won't be much different.

The potential downside is the longer it takes for your engine to heat up the more wear on the motor (though oil not heating up and circulating etc.).

[businesstrader]

This was a good read (3rd paragraph down he talks about this)

http://www.badasscars.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=113/category_id=13/mode=prod/prd113.htm

[GLENN 70]

No you shouldn't do that . Yes the engine will take longer to warm up which is not good for it .  The water in the radiator will flow to fast without the thermostat in . If you want to try pull the guts out of the thermostat and give that a go . The engine needs to come up to temperature quickly as does the oil to be honest . Well he says it will run cooler without the thermostat so give it a go and see what happens .

[shaunp]

A thermostat wont cause it to run hot unless it is stuck, minimum cylinder wear occurs when the engine runs at over 80 deg you want them to get to that quickly and run there. But with a 15 lb cap and the correct dose of coolant it wont boil till over 130 degs C in any case. If your car gets hot, fix what is wrong, if in deed it is running hot, the gauges are notorious for reading hot but the engine is often fine. Put a temp gun on it and see what it is running at before you do anything. See how much the rad takes out in temp from top to bottom hose, this will give a clue if the rad is toast.
 Holden grey motors used to crack the heads in the back 3 cylinders with no thermostat, MGB's will as well, they have to at least have a restrictor in them to slow the flow, that is straight from the BMC factory special tuning race engine book. You really need an engine to run up to temp quickly so it can boil the fuel and moisture from the oil, its not just about them warning up so they run smooth.

[scollist]

.... Put a temp gun on it and see what it is running at before you do anything. See how much the rad takes out in temp from top to bottom hose, this will give a clue if the rad is toast....

I have one of these and it works well.

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/SCA-Infrared-Thermometer.aspx?pid=321439#Recommendations

[GLENN 70]

Shaun what do you think of taking the guts out of the thermostat and giving that a go ,much better than taking it out all together . The early radiators in mustangs were a crap design and to small also .

[shaunp]

Shaun what do you think of taking the guts out of the thermostat and giving that a go ,much better than taking it out all together . The early radiators in mustangs were a crap design and to small also .

Yeah I've done that before, its kind of  race car thing, get it hot race it then park it, but if everything is ok they should be fine, just have to work out firstly if it is hot, and why, could just be the timing, pretty sure the car has had the dissy out lately, has I got a shroud, and correct fan, spring in the bottom hose, rad blocked. There is always a reason. 67 rad is ok in 65/66

[Pinto Pete]

  well said shaun, most engines were designed to run a thermostat  or restrictor plate in their cooling system for the reasons stated( although think you can run a 911 without a thermostat no problem) , you can remove the thermostat and it may be fine however engine life may well be greatly affected, also performance and fuel consumption can also suffer, engines need the correct amount of heat to operate, late model stuff actually runs hotter than older ones it's one way of gaining performance..I'd be checking the cooling system as has been suggested before pulling the thermostat.

[GLENN 70]

I remember years ago they said the horse on the grill was so big it deflected the air to the side of the grill on early mustangs  and the radiators were to small and most ran a little 4 blade fan and no shroud .  Also if a engine runs to cool it will use more fuel .

[shaunp]

well said shaun, most engines were designed to run a thermostat  or restrictor plate in their cooling system for the reasons stated( although think you can run a 911 without a thermostat no problem) , you can remove the thermostat and it may be fine however engine life may well be greatly affected, also performance and fuel consumption can also suffer, engines need the correct amount of heat to operate, late model stuff actually runs hotter than older ones it's one way of gaining performance..I'd be checking the cooling system as has been suggested before pulling the thermostat.

My Landrover Discovery wont come down to idle it the temp is not up. it runs an 87-89 from memory. Had one stick open and it would only idle at about 1500 rpm, ecu was seeing cool water temp had held it in warm up mode used heaps of fuel. You had to drive it for almost an hour in winter before it would get hot enough to idle in Brisbane.

[businesstrader]

The car seems to heat up when I'm driving and will cool down when I stop or idle. If i'm driving along about 60km's after about 15 mins, she starts getting hot. If I take my foot off the gas, it cools down, fast!

No shroud
6 blad fan
yes there is spring in bottom hose so it can't crush.
Rad was flushed months ago.

Yes I did recently put in an electric dizzy, but the timing sounds and feels perfect (after adjusting by ear). But it does over heat since installing new dizzy.......

[Ash]

Go grab a timing gun, they are pretty cheap, and make sure the timing is ok first. Then try again.

[GLENN 70]

Get the timing correct and not by Ear .You need to have the timing correct down low and and higher revs . Maybe 10 deg and 32 deg  nothing over and at over 3,000 rpm .

[shaunp]

The car seems to heat up when I'm driving and will cool down when I stop or idle. If i'm driving along about 60km's after about 15 mins, she starts getting hot. If I take my foot off the gas, it cools down, fast!

No shroud
6 blad fan
yes there is spring in bottom hose so it can't crush.
Rad was flushed months ago.

Yes I did recently put in an electric dizzy, but the timing sounds and feels perfect (after adjusting by ear). But it does over heat since installing new dizzy.......

Flushed as in with a hose or were the tanks taken off and the core rodded?  Flushing them with a hose is a waste of time . They need a shroud.  Sounds like the timing is wrong as well.

[businesstrader]

Get the timing correct and not by Ear .You need to have the timing correct down low and and higher revs . Maybe 10 deg and 32 deg  nothing over and at over 3,000 rpm .

I think I'd be more comfy getting it done by a pro! Anyone know of a place locally in Penrith where I can get the timing tuned?

[GLENN 70]

Yes but find someone that really knows what they are doing . Now you have a new dizzy ,he has to make sure the advance curve is correct in the dizzy not just setting the timing . Most old school guys with high performance cars will know what they are doing .

[shaunp]

Yes but find someone that really knows what they are doing . Now you have a new dizzy ,he has to make sure the advance curve is correct in the dizzy not just setting the timing . Most old school guys with high performance cars will know what they are doing .

Why not go see Big Al

[GLENN 70]

Yes Shaun big Al ,good idea .

[businesstrader]

Why not go see Big Al

Ok good idea! Might call over tomoz.

[GLENN 70]

Have you got the manifold yet ? .  Once you fit that and have the dizzy fixed and timing done it should go quite well .

[businesstrader]

Have you got the manifold yet ? .  Once you fit that and have the dizzy fixed and timing done it should go quite well .

I bought it from the US, and should have it by end of next week. I'm going put this in as well.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=400301085267&alt=web&globalID=EBAY-AU&ssPageName=ADME:X:ACME:AU:1123.

Might put some roller rockers in next (http://www.ebay.com/itm/111529091224?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D111529091224%26_rdc%3D1). I just want to get the most out of what I have............without going over board!

Looking at converting from c4 to T5 at some point to. (so many plans!...lol)

[big al]

Thanks for the suggestion and referral Shaun.
But sorry to say that I will not be open tomorrow as I have a Tafe Course to do tomorrow and it is an all day course.
Will definitely be available the following Saturday if Mr Business Trader would like to come and see me!

Al