Thermostat which one to use

SuperDad

Registered User
I've looked all around but couldn't find an answer, I'm changing my thermostat & bought a 180 dgree, after reading the different threads, people say not to go with the 180 but to stick with the stock 190ish, if I don't have a chip? I live in the california desert & heating up my engine is not a problem. My problem is that my SC runs very HOT... on or past the M or regular driving. It's quite possible it's the original thermostat, so I'm wondering if that's my actual problem?
 
If there's any way you can take a thermograph of the radiator when the motor is hot, that'll help clue in if the radiator is plugged.

Also, on my daughter-in-law's Taurus, we had heating problems on it (as in "no heat, water doesn't flow enough"). When we pulled the water pump to replace it due to its weeping, we found that only half of one of the impeller flaps was even there ... the other impeller arms were flat as could be! For some strange reason, not only does it run cooler, but the heater works BETTER with the new water pump (Imagine that!)

I don't know that's the problem, but it's worth checking out.

I'd stick with the factory thermostat and fix the cooling problem first.

RwP
 
Thanks for the info, I just returned the 180 dgree and bought a stock 195. I will try that first & keep my fingers crossed. I never knew a thermostat could cause an engine to overheat, but my pickup truck just started doing the same exact thing as my T-Bird, running really hot, then cooling a little, then hot again. It made me think....TStat? So I'm changing both & hoping for the best
 
I changed my t-stat and I put a 160 in and I am changing the fan temps. I did this mod on my 94 lx it kept it much cooler and had alot more power. I am finding that my really does not like heat more specific it runs crappie when it's hot and less power. Just figured I'd give my 2 cents worth.
 
we used to run our dragster at 230 degrees coolant temp, that was where she made the fastest passes

heat = power
 
I put the 195 dgree tstat in, ran it for about 10 minutes....The temp guage went up to the M rather quick, when it went past the M, the fan turned on & brought it back to the R - M. It did this about 4 times in the 10 minutes. I agree with renello79, my sc runs much better, cooler. I don't think I would've worried so much about the tempatures, but the guage would get real close & sometimes on the H. Ideally I would like it to stay around the N. Is the water pump, like ralph stated a possibility?
 
There ARE two other things.

One, the gauge is not very well calibrated. I'd upgrade the PCM to one I could datalog from (say with a QuarterHorse), and then see what temps the ECM is seeing.

Two, the sending unit is known to be flaky on these ... there's actually a TSB on them! I'd swap the gauge sending unit before I worried too much.

Third - the fan comes on at, what, 220F? If it's turning on and off, that's warm, but not worth worrying about IMO. (Others with more knowledge about what these motors want may chime in and say I'm stupid and wrong. 'Salright, listen to them instead!)

RwP
 
I put the 195 dgree tstat in, ran it for about 10 minutes....The temp guage went up to the M rather quick, when it went past the M, the fan turned on & brought it back to the R - M. It did this about 4 times in the 10 minutes. I agree with renello79, my sc runs much better, cooler. I don't think I would've worried so much about the tempatures, but the guage would get real close & sometimes on the H. Ideally I would like it to stay around the N. Is the water pump, like ralph stated a possibility?

Assuming you don't have a leaking had gasket, or a big air pocket in the cooling system...it's probably the radiator. Even when new the stock radiator is marginal and just doesn't have enough cooling capacity for a modified motor or one that is operating in a climate like yours.

I fought cooling issues for years on my 91 SC and tried everything from high flow thermostats to additional fans, and never did resolve the problem until switching to a high capacity Griffin aluminum radiator.

David
 
When I get the cooling fan kit installed, I will let you know how it is and how I installed it cause I will piggyback the kit off of the factory wiring. This way if something does go wrong with the kit the factory settings will still turn the fan on.
 
I logged my car recently and 210* is on the N. Would cruise the highway there in 80* weather with the stock 193 T stat.

But make sure you get the air bubbles out and when you first fill the reservoir fill it to the hot line or above cause the system will most likley draw some more in when it cools back down the first few times.
 
Thanks for all the good feedback & suggestions. IMO, I think it's the radiator. I'm just not ready to put the $ into an aluminum one. I will try my new Tstat for a while, If it did what it did yesterday (not getting to far past the M). I will consider it a success. This is not a daily driver, so it will take a few trips to get a true reading. I will update as soon as I know better. Thank You All
 
Well... some encouraging news, just took a 1/2 hour drive in 103 dgrees noon time heat around the city streets, with the a/c blowing full blast. The guage hung around the M... it did go 1/8th'' past the M a few times, but no further. Perhaps the thermostat was stopping the flow of coolant?
 
same

i m facing the same exact issue if you ever resolve id like to know other than the griffin route.. put my new infrared therm on it ands got 242 around the therm housing and water pump which is new and have since put stock thermo in only way i can control the heat is to flip the switch on the # 14 mod i did which the pros around here seem to be against
 
For now I'm going to live with my results, So far, with just a new tstat it seems to running....dare I say.....Cooler? I will definatly post any changes I make to the cooling system
 
As I mentioned before, I used a 160 t-stat and changed my fan temps to come on at 195 and off at 165 but that was on my 94 lx so I had a place to put the extra sensor. With the SC I don't have anywhere to put it as of yet but when I did it on my 94 lx it worked fantastic. So when I finally get this figured out I will post my results. The kit I am using the fan temps are adjustable so it is where you want it.
 
Made my own !!!

REMOVED THE SPRING AND GUTS FROM STAT USED 1 S.S. 5/8 WASHER TO SLOW FLOW :cool: NEVER HEATS UP OTHER THAT TO N ON NORM :eek: WORKS FOR ME !!!:D,
 
Is there anything wrong with removing the tstat completly?

There can be.

Without SOME restriction, it's possible the water won't sit in spots long enough, so the motor ends up overheating with cold water in it.

So, no, I wouldn't remove it completely.

RwP
 
Back
Top