my car is a 1988 GTA 5.7L TPI. after lots of wiring/ ac work, and other stuff my fans finally are coming on and off like they were designed to. My problem is that the car still seems to be running a little bit hot. Maybe my thermostat needs to be changed so I got a 180 thermo from GM.

IF I swap out the thermostat will I need to change anything else, or program the computer etc ? or is it as easy as just swapping out the thermostat ?

help please ? I did a search but did not find the answer.

 

I forgot to mention I have the digital dash. after reading a few other threads the idea that the gauge or sending unit may be faulty. I DO have a new gauge and sending unit that will be installed, but was wondering if I can just swap out the thermo to the 180 without having to change anything else.

 

Maybe, maybe not.

My Stewart Stage 2 pump recommends their 180 stat as it has the 3 holes pre-drilled to keep the flow since this WP flows more than stock, I can't have a closed stat. Plus with the 3 holes this keeps the coolant always flowing and less likely to develop heat soak.

Otherwise I am pretty sure you can just go ahead and swap it out, the stat works off itself and will open at the new desired temperature.

 

Plug-n-play, and you're done. No re-programming is necessary.

The engine will run cooler at steady driving speeds, but in heavy traffic or at long idles, you'll see the temp climb slowly toward the stock fan temp, where, if reached, the fan will turn on normally. Then as you begin moving steadily again, you'll see the temp slowly come back down.

That's exactly how it's designed to operate. All you'll be doing is lowering the intial temp from 195* down to 180*.

 

you can get a lower temp fan switch to match the t-stat as well.
if you are going to get a lower t-stat, get a 160 for max effect.
remember, the fans will still come on at the 210 temp they were designed to come on at, but your highway temps will be cooler and the fans will work better if you get a lower temp fan switch.
what i did was get an adjustable fan switch, gut the stock relay, and make the adjustable switch plug into the connector for the stock relay.
this way, i can adjust the fan-on temp from anywhere between 160 and 220.
all i did was ground the stock wire that goes to the fan switch. the adjustable switch uses a thermometer that plugs into the radiator for its temp signal.
the best part is that if the thing ever craps out and i cant find another one, i can replace it with a stock relay and move the ground back to the fan switch and have completely stock cooling.

 

KISS principle.....

180° thermostat works great. It's the perfect blend of cool enough for summer and warm enough for winter.

A 200/185° fan switch for the secondary fan will also work well for both summer and winter.

No programming is needed for either of these as the ECM automatically adjusts air/fuel and timing on engine temp. (I am running both the 180° stat and the fan switch)

 

I could have sworn I read somewhere the following:

- 195 stat is stock
- 180 stat is the perfect compromise and is plug-n-play
- 160 stat is not recommended for a daily driver + the PROM has to be reprogrammed because at 160 the ECM will think the engine is not warmed up and will never go into closed loop.


Can someone elaborate on this?

 

There is no point to running a 180 unless you do something about the fans or you will continue to run around 220 at idle and low speeds. The 160 wont prevent closed loop but it does interfere with highway spark and fueling modes.

 

Well i put on TB bypass, 180 stat, and hypertechs 200-180 switch. should work good.

 

I just swapped out my stock stat for a 180 one and so far loved it, my car was running way to hot, probably cause the stat was bad but even before hand. So far no complaints from me going to a 180 one.!

 

I think a previous owner was messing with the wiring or something because one of my fans always turns on ~165 according to my stock 22 year old temp gauge. The other fan always waits until ~200-210 to turn on. I was thinking about doing the 180 thermostat because of how I drive the car. For example, at the Car Craft Nationals this year, I was doing hot laps on the autocross course and my temp gauge was getting up to ~240. Funny thing was that it was only ~75*F at the time with a nice breeze. Even for local autocrosses where I only make one run and then I can let it cool for ~5 minutes before the next, I can start the run ~160 and when I exit the course and go back to my spot in grid the temp gauge usually reads just under 200*. It never got that hot when I went drag racing and it was even hotter out then at the autocross events. I sure hope the 180 thermostat will help. Maybe I just need to ease up with the car....
nah!!

Mike

 

If your car is overheating with a stock t-stat, it will continue to do so with lower temp one, since simply changing the t-stat does not increase the cooling capacity of the cooling system.
160* is too cool for a street vehicle. Engine temp needs to reach at least 180*.

 

I put a 180 t-stat and wired my fan to a toggle switch because it wouldnt turn on works great in this florida weather

 

Well I didn't need to reprogram the ECM(car's computer).....

Last year's project was cooling, so first I did two rad flushes, changed the thermostat from a 192* to a fail safe 160*, installed A Hypertech #4026 Cool fan switch, (turns on primary fan at 177* and off at 166*), And also rewired the secondary fan (A/C fan) to manual switch from inside the car. I refilled with 50/50 mix using distilled water and added Water Wetter into rad. My car never sees above 180ish......in southern ontario,.....(stock duel electric fans and rad). But i've been told that you DO NEED a thermostat for proper cooling, the hot coolent needs to sit for a few mins to cool down before going back inside engine, free flowing coolent will never cool down as much, as quickly then without thermo...

Excuse the large post, I copied it from a post I made on another thread....Hope This Helps You.

 

That is incorrect information, and it is passed around a lot. For example, you apparently just posted it in two threads.

This idea seems to come from people who have cooling trouble at high RPMs, and and they think it is because the water pump is moving coolant too fast, then when their cooling trouble is solved by underdrive pulleys, they assume they were right, when really coolant flow was greatly decreased due to cavitation, then they slowed the pump down, and it started working again...

Think about it, if the coolant in the radiator was just sitting there, cooling, what is the rest of it doing? Getting hotter.
There is a very good reason there is a large selection of high volume water pumps, and no low volume pumps available.

 

Ok, I have a 160* thermo, I was reading that a 180* would be a better choice but the d-bag who tuned my car did a real bad job at explaining anything to me so he just went ahead and did tuning or whatever. I try not to think about what he did, really. But should I be good to move from 160 to 180 or should I leave it alone?

 

Why do you think its a better choice to have a 180* thermo?

 

I was thinking about trying it because I've been tripping my check engine light and it's been code 45 (oxygen sensor rich detected) every time so I'm thinking maybe it is running too cold and not going into closed loop especially now that it's getting pretty cold around here. But please correct me if that doesn't seem right.

 

Your Code 45 SHOULD not be thermostat related!!! Any guys run a 160* thermo without problems, yours sound to me to be a Problem DUE TO your TUNING......This really sucks cause you don't know what he did to it exactly!
1) Try to check that your TPS is set to 0.54v- 0.56v (stock settings).
2) When you say Tuning, do you mean he put a new aftermarket PROM Chip in it? Did he put one thats programable/reprogramable?
3) Did he just mess around under the hood (engine), and played around with your sensors and stuff?

***If he changed the setting to your TPS, that alone could cause your car to run too lean or too rich....(ex. a setting of 0.45v = lean, a setting of 0.66v = rich)***

 

It's a mess. I guess he did something with the Hypertech chip that was already in it. Not my idea. As far as work under the hood, he changed the plugs, wires, and a new 02 sensor. I had to go back and change the wires on my own because the old ones were sitting on the block, causing them to melt. I put a new 02 sensor since because I thought maybe he f-ed that up too.


Here is where I got the idea: https://www.thirdgen.org/160-degree-...tat-tpi-engine

 

OH, there are TWO types of spark plugs that can be used on our TPI motors.....
1. 1 type is for the 80's TPI Corvettes (Aluminum Block)
2. The second type IS FOR OUR BLOCK (Cast Iron) I think part # is R43TS...99% sure!

If mixed up, it could be the problem.....Again, not 100% sure!!! Part # should be printed on the side of the spark plugs.... You should double check!