Thread: 180 tstat question

Don't drill holes in the thermostat, just leave it alone IMO. It does it's job just fine. I would pull it off and see if there are any issues with the o-ring around it. check the coolant level too (take off the radiator cap, not just the overflow tank).

That PCM of mine will turn your fans on sooner and keep it cooler

It's gonna warm up in traffic when you're not moving. Warmer air with all the other cars around has an effect too. It's normal.

IF...you don't like it sitting as high as it does you can always get a 160* during the summer-time...just an option

Air in the system? You might have a air pocket moving around in there just a thought...

Well I've come to the conclusion it is the stock PCM and you need to get mine MUAHAHAHAHAHA!! lol

If you still have the stock pcm settings for the fan turn on points, then they don't come on until a bit over 200* (212* I think).
When you're not moving, there will be no air going through the radiator to cool down the hot coolant being pumped through it.

When I installed a 180* t-stat, it did the exact same thing.
I installed it a few days before I had a guy come over to do a tune and I had asked him to set the fan turn on points for the 180* t-stat.
It still went up to about 212* while driving through the city before it cooled back down again.
I figured out later that the guy forgot to actually change the fan settings while doing the tune. Go figure.
Now I have the fan turn on points set to 180* and my ECT's don't go over 185*.

Also, sometimes a pesky air bubble can be a bit persistant.
I've had to bleed the air out multiple times before.
One time I just kept a 7mm socket and a towel in my car for about a week and opened the valve above the t-stat every time I parked my car.

-Riggs.

The thermostat is much maligned, often misunderstood, and seldom credited for its mostly reliable service.

Thermostats in proper working order, control only the minimum operating temperature at which engine coolant is allowed to heat. A properly operating thermostat has absolutely nothing to do with how hot the engine becomes. If you are experiencing an over heating engine, changing to a colder thermostat will not correct the condition, it only allows the coolant more time to over heat. A thermostat once fully open can do no more to control temperature. The overheating cause lays somewhere else.

Some believe that removing the thermostat completely can remedy over heating concerns. This can be deceiving, with out some flow control coolant can pass through the radiator without slowing enough to cool, returning to the engine hotter with each circuit of the liquid.

The temperature stamped or marked on the thermostat is the "start to open" rating. This is often referred to as when the thermostat just "cracks open" and allows some coolant to flow. This is in contrast to the popular belief that the temperature specification identifies when the thermostat is fully open. Most applications have a thermostat that is designed to "crack" at about 180 to 195 degrees F. If the thermostat opening is set too low or too high engine damage can be the result. High coolant temperatures can cause abnormal combustion, loss of power, damage to bearings and other moving parts, etc. Low engine operating temperatures lead to excessive fuel consumption, dilution of lubricating oil by the addition of unburned fuel, the formation of sludge from the condensation of water in the crankcase along with a host of other concerns.

Most thermostats are designed to be fully open 20 degrees F after cracking. So 215' on a 195' would be considered "Normal"
As would 200' on a 180'

Water Pump.

Originally Posted by bluegtp91

IF...you don't like it sitting as high as it does you can always get a 160* during the summer-time...just an option

no one ever needs a 160* thermostat...ever...