Well coming home last night i noticed my heat would get VERy cold while on the highway and would get hot on the street. Come to find out that the previous owner took out the thermo to solve a over heating problem. WELL the over heating problem had nothing to do with the thermo, it was caused by a bad fan relay and motor, something i had already fixed with a new fan motor,relay and a hayden adjustable switch.SO now that its getting VERY cold here in Philly i have to not only put in a thermostate tomorrow but while i was under the hood i noticed my water pump was on the way out, not bad really, just 3 drips in a 20 minute period, but im thinking that the added pressure of a thermostate being installed when their wasnt one will cause more strain on the already dieing pump and cause it to go at the total wrong moment. what do you guys think? Do it now or can it wait a bit? Also i have only done water pumps on my old thunderbird 5.0, I hear that the water pump on the 2.8 can rip the timing chain cover off How easy/hard is it compaired to others?

 

If it's coming out the weep hole you can try a bottle of Bars Leak, sometimes it will buy you some time until the weather is warmer. The stuff works well in a pinch.

 

Thanx for the reply danno, i think im gonna give it a try, the thermo is like a 5 minute job but with no indoor place to do the water pump i really dont feel like doing it in the cold its not really leaking bad yet either

 

Until you put in a theromostat the car will continure to over cool, thats why its colder on the highway and warmer in stop and go. The job of the thermostat is to prevent overcooling, and that is why your not getting any heat. Put 195* stat and youll be all set!! heck there only $3.99 and about 20 minutes

 

Thanks for the info but i already knew that , i was just asking why does it happen when its cold, like nothing goes wrong when the weather is nice and hot, its always when its cold out that something on a car goes wrong. Like "damnit, why couldnt the damn water pump go when it was august!" <~~ kinda like that statment.

 

I put in a 180 stat and udjuated my fan switch to turn on around 185. works much better now i use less gass too

 

Actually with no thermostat on the highway the car overheats in warmer climates. At highway RPM's, the water pump moves water faster in the radiator than the radiator can dissipate the engine's heat. Adding the thermo prevents this. In colder climates this doesn't always happen. Depends on the climate, motor size, and length of trip.

I also learned to skip the $3.99 units in favor of the lifetime/heavy duty ones that don't rust out/get stuck in a year. If you don't run a tranny cooler, I recommend a 180 for a stock motor.

 

oh no. this has been beaten to death!!

 

actually noooooooooo with no thermo the car over cools on the highway. The whole "not enough time in the rad " thing is just something i disagree with, in my opinion. Unless the outside air temperature is around 200 degrees the car will not overheat as your statement sujests.

 

bzzzt. wrong. but thanks for playing.


btw, if you pay more then $5 for a thermostat, you got ripped.... and if it rusts out... you really got ripped LMAO!!


btw, on a FI car, theres no need to run a 180 stat.... stock is fine. you will not gain any power by going to a cooler stat.... you will effect your emmissions output though... random tip: warm your car up completely before you get it emmissions tested.

 

please direct all "no thermostat" post here. https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...=no+thermostat AFTER reading what its about.

 

psssssst actually your wrong, and stock is too hot thanx for the incorrect info though:nono: A thermo opens when the temp reaches a certain temp, without a thermo the coolant is exposed to the rad and the air passing through the rad, now without the fan(s) on on the highway their is soooooo much air passing through ther rad that the car will never heat up. and in order for it too get hotter without a thermo as you said the air temp outside would have to be like 200 degrees. Its common sence, i guess some people have none.

 

Yeah the manufactuers have no idea what there doing right? Or maybe the aftermarket pays them to do things wrong so they can get into our money too. LOL, so many conspiracy theories

Manufactuers arent doing millions in research for nothing. Hotter engines have more complete combustion, produce more power with less emmisions, and get better gas milage.

Anyways, I think he was saying the same thing you were, the t-stat prevents overcooling.

 

LOL, maybe he was, im just so used to some people on here being so stupid with their comments and argueing with you. It is amazing how people think. Like i saw one guy say that when your on the highway without a thermo going atr 75mph the coolant can not stay in the rad long enough to cool down and your car will build up heat and over heat. Now wtf is he smoking, next time you drive down the highway doing 75 put your hand out the window.Feel all that air pressing on your hand? Now multiply that times at least 10( asuming your rad is the size of ten of your hands) With this amount of air fource the coolant could spend a very short time in the rad and get cooled off. And with this in mind, The outside air temp would have to get VERY high in order for your car to get hotter on the highway without a temp as he described because of the "lack of coolant staying in the rad bs"Besides im the one who started this thread, it was my car that had no thermo SO, i think i would know since the car has been like this since i bought it and since then i have driven it in 90 degree weather and in the very cold weather we have had lately and it HAS ALWAYS RAN COLD!!!!!

 

Maybe those are the same people who instead of putting a thermostat in their car, put a giant piece of cardboard in front of the radiator to fix their problem..

Perhaps that is where this myth started..

 

read the whole post, not just the first sentance...

 

Thanks for playing? Let me correct my earlier statement (which I worded for simplicity). When you remove the stat, it's not that the radiator can't cool fast enough that overheats the motor, it's the removal of the block pressure that does. This is a hard FACT. Just like water is the best coolant. You don't have to believe it if you don't want too.

What does a FI car have to do with this? Though I own both carb and FI in 3rd gen form and wouldn't run without a "quality" 160 stat in either where I live. Doesn't really matter though. I suggested 180 over stock because most would agree it increases the longevity of the motor AND tranny without destroying mileage or pumping out emissions. FYI, the stat doesn't guarantee the engine's temp, the cooling system's ability does. Obviously GM runs the motors hot for emissions purposes, & this doesn't help the life of the motor/tranny.

BTW, most part stores carry Stant brand stats. The cheap one rusted stuck on me. The "heavy duty" version by Stant hasn't failed yet. I happily paid $8 for a Robert Shaw high-flow 160 stat and noticed a huge cooling system performance gain, even without the high-flow pump, which is going in soon, since I'm nearly 350 horse. If the $3.99 stats work for you, great you saved $4.

I think someone accused me of "smoking something" when I said a car could overheat without a stat. Someone said something about a hand out the window. To these people I can only suggest more research on the topic.

Here's some articles on the web concerning the function of the thermostat. I can't find any experienced car enthusiast/mechanic who can recommend to ever remove a stat. Many articles explain why too.

http://www.chevytalk.com/tech/engine...ng_Top_10.html
Check point #4 on above link.

http://www2.gol.com/users/tube/cooling.html
General info on cooling systems.

I could give 10 more links, some from University's and Racing companies. But everyone has their opinions. Nonetheless, if anyone wants to remove their stat and risk localized boiling of coolant, usually in the heads, due the the reduced pressure in the block, feel free, it's your engine. Drag engines are expensive, and use restrictors in place of stats to keep the block pressure up.

EDIT: To the originator of this post, you maintain your engine runs cold in hot or cold weather without a stat. Last time I checked, a water gauge can't detect localized hot-spots in the motor from lack of coolant pressure. Good luck with your 2.8L.

 

MY CAR, YES this post is about my car, ran cold in hot and cold weather without a thermo. Localised hot spots you say? Well i drove from my house in Philly to wildwood nj this past summer in 90* weather and when i got there i opened the rad and stuck my finger in the coolant, it was warm at best. Stop being an booty about this and drop it already, you are wrong. No Thermo= runs cold.

 

I don't believe use of vulgar language is permitted, it justs shows age I guess.

MOD: Fixed!

When I said good luck with your 2.8L I was quite sincere, they are all I can seem to find in the junkyards when looking for V8 parts.

Your water gauge/finger test doesn't matter to me, having built and raced cars for 15 years. Removing the stat lowers the coolant's pressure through the motor and heads, creating localized hot spots that you can't see or feel with any test, regardless the coolant temp.

Your 2.8L could probably go cross country on a half full radiator and run cold without a stat, but you'd overheat a 350HP V8 without a stat in a hurry. That's why I said earlier the resultant coolant temp depends on the motor and length of trip. Do a search here, others have said it many times.

Making a blanket "no thermo=runs cold" statement on here, in my opinion, will be misleading to some.

 

I was talking about MY car, you go on and on about "no, cars run hotter without thermos not colder" then change up and say "oh, i was talking about v8's" Whatever man, drop it.

 

Read my original post, I specifically said engine size and length of trip mattered bigtime, I never "changed up" anything.

BTW, if you can touch your coolant you're really messing up your motor bad & your gas mileage, as is anyone else that doesn't run an engine at 175 degrees minimum.

EDIT: br()bert, relax... enough icons already. If I'm spreading so much mis-information perhaps a mod should step in and tell me to shut my yap. Then again, since no one else is participating, perhaps a mod should lock this thread as it's not helping anyone, which is what I felt these forums were all about.

 

 

i was hoping something good could come out of this, but yes this thread is better off locked. but if anyone wants to still contribute, this topic has been discussed before at https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...=no+thermostat