Hey guys...my car is kind of off the road for a while so ive been thinking about changint the thermostat to a 180*. Anyway i have been told by a friend of mine how to change it but i figured id ask my buddies on TGO. ANyway any ideas or tips would be uselful.Thanks in advance..

-Adam

 

dont over tighten the bolts bc the gasket will leak! also make sure to get ALL ALL ALL of the old gasket romeved before u put the new one on!

 

I have four words to say about this: Robert Shaw Hi Performance

 

hate to sound my age(17) but what is that? I was just gonna pick up a thermostat from pepboys.Is that a bad idea???

 

Just any decent parts store should have what you want (180* thermo for SBC). I got mine at Canadian Tire for like $5. Works just fine.

When you install it, just clean the surfaces really well (scrape them with a gasket scraper or razor to get it all off), put gasket silicone on BOTH sides of the gasket, drop in the thermo, place gasket over it, put on housing, tighten it up. Leave it for a bit to let the silicone cure, check the bolts to make sure they are tight, check for leaks, fire it up. Let it warm up so the thermo opens up (feel the top hose, when it gets hot, its open). Let it run for a little bit to get the whole cooling system warm, then shut it off... come back when its all cooled off, and check for leaks and top off the coolant if you have to. Done.

 

i needed a t-stat once so i went to Pep boys got a cheap one, installed it about six months later it went bad. i thought i just got a lemon.went and bought another, installed it. a few months later it went bad. i went back to pep boys looked at the selection and saw the high end robert shaw bought it installed it and never had aproblem. so i figure its worth the extra $5 to get a quality t-stat. i don't know if pep boys still sells them.

 

prolly another dunb question, but does the thermo come with the gasket. this seems pretty simple so i think im making more complicated than it is. its just how i am, simple things bother me more then complicated ones...thanks for the help guys, ill prolly do it this weekend..

-Adam

 

Usually isnt included, but its really cheap and they usually grab it when they get the thermostat for you since you must replace it too.

 

Does anybody know if pepboys still carries the high performance ones? seems worth the extra couple bux

 

my car has a rubber gasket that is reusable that ive been using for awile havent had a leak with that yet. check into that makes it alot easier when switching instead of cleaning the surface.

 

Yea, since no one else has mentioned this yet, a t-stat is only about $5, and a nice chrome water neck (pretties things up), is about $10.... Not sure if you can use it with it's typical lack of sensor spots but....
One other thing is it comes with a nice rubber o-ring style gasket, which you can probably obtain for your stock waterneck if you want, and those are much less prone to leaking.
Just more to think about... -J

 

I'm assmuming this "performance" thermostat is nothing more then a colder running one

might give you better performance but the motor isn't running at the greatest efficiency

oil runs a little thicker and stuff like that
generally most relaible and best option would be just to stick with the stock thermostat

 

I do understand from other posts that a cooler running engine dosnt always mean a better running engine.that much i understand. But for my day to day drving around town, and the crappy condition my engine is in, this is a cheap temporary fix to get to and from high school.Thanks. Anyway, i am going witha 180 since i beleive 160 might be too cold. Thnks for all the help and keep em coming if theres more...i learn soo much on this site.

-Adam

 

the 180* stat is a very common "upgrade". I don't really think it'll do much, if anything...

Stock is.. what 195? I put in a 180* recently, I figured since I have no air dam, it's probably a good idea...

 

Not really, the thermostat controls the lower temperature limit. If your car wants to run hotter than that then it will and there's nothing the thermostat can do about it.

 

one more suggestion:

Stick a shop towel or rag into the opening while your removing the old gasket. That will help keep debris out of the engine.

Does a TPI have things in the way?

I have a TBI and the thermostat is easily accessible.

 

TPI will probably be a little more painful to do, but I doubt its too bad. TBI is about the same as a carb, and its cake on a carb'd motor.

 

they don't quite just control the lower they can controll upper as well


on a car if the thermostat is stuck open generally your car won't get very warm. thermostats will either cycle between open and closed or will stay open just enough to keep a specific amount of coolent to maintain a constant temp.

my mazda had a stuck thermostat once. took forever for it to warm up and then it wouldn't warm up very much either even less during the winter time being the car never even made it to full operating temp

 

That's not quite what we're talking about. Your experience is an example of what happens when the thermostat fails to control the lower temperature limit.