I had a 180 stat in and switched to 195, the oem replacment. When i did that, i drilled two .125 holes in the stat, and replaced the clutch fan. Man it really pulls the air now.It use to run 220+, now it never gets over 200. I can deal with that. I think the problem with the 180 is that once it opens, the water doesnt stay in the radiator long enough to get cooled off. Hope this helps some people, i know you guys have helped me by reading all of your informative posts. keep it up you guys!

 

hmm interesting. im running a 180 t stat, with a direct belt fan (no clutch) and i over heat a lot. maybe i should try the higher temp t stat.

is it better to have a clutch on your fan?

 

Drilling the holes is also good because it prevents the buildup of air bubbles in the cooling system (can mess you up). I run 180 stats and have no problems.

 

I'm willing to bet that the thermostat was not your problem, but the fan clutch.
As for the Trans_AM_88, I would either go with a clutch fan, or an electric fan setup. If you go with the electric fan setup, just wire it to the battery, and make sure you get the upper shroud

 

well i have the upper and lower mounts for the electric fans, and i have the 2 fans. i just dont have the 6 bolts (3 per fan) that attatch the fans to the mounts. anyone know the specs on them so i can go to a hardware store and buy some? junkies around here get scavenged before i get there

also, how exactly are the fans attatched to the plastic upper and lower mounts? is there supposed to the a nut and a bolt? i heard that the bolt has a 13mm head but what about the thread?