hey i went to AutoZone and had them special order a Hypertech 160 degree thermostat

im gonna pick it up wednesday

please tell me anything i need to know about a gasket for it and where to get it and how to install and price


thanx

 

They should have it at autozone . I think I paid like a dollor or 2 for mine . It's a paper gasket . Make sure all the old rubber gasket , or whatever kinda gasket you have on there now is off , scrape it off .check the waterneck and around the coolant hole . BE EXTREMELY CAREFULL not to let any drop down in the coolant hole .Then just put the gasket on and thermastat on top of it and bam , its done ! And dont over tighten the waterneck when you put it back on , because the gasket will leak , I tighten mine tight , but I didnt strain my guts out , I just tightened till it was tight and didnt have to force it anymore , then drove the car around some to make sure it didnt leak . I have the same thermastat as you are getting . You will be pleased .My car runs so much cooler !

 

to really take advantage ull need to wire ur fan to be on ALL the time ...or esle ur thernmostat will open @ 160 but ur fan wont cooll the water till it reaches 200+...

so i had to get a relay 4 bucks and a switch 2 bucks and some wire so that i have a switch to start the fan IF i want it on all the tiem ... if i wanna go back to stock i just switch the fan off thats all and the computer switches it on at the predetermined level

 

Hey is that hard to do ? I wanna do that on mine !!!

 

Eh, sounds like a waste to me... maybe, put a switch on it, but why run the fan all the time if you're not speeding around? Plus we only need the fan if we're either (A) stuck in traffic or (B) stuck in line at the racetrack, which doesn' t happen daily.

Oh, stock, the fan should kick in at 230 degrees...

 

Haaay, wait, Berlyn, I'm 99.9% sure your 3.1 uses an O-ring instead of a gasket! That means you don't have to go through the "hell" of scraping an old one off. Anyone know if he should replace the O-ring (or where he'd get one if he should)?

 

ok tomp....whats the use of having a 160 thermostat if ur engine temp is always @ 220../190

the thermosat only opens the water flow at 160 ...so if ur water temp is over 160...doesnt really help...

the GM standard system switches the fan on @ 220 because the thermosat only opens @ 190..

usually the fan should come on @ like 20-30* after the thermosat has opened to take advantage of the thermosat...

i put in the 160 thermostat and found that my car still runs @ 190+ (i have a mechanical temp gauge)...didnt seem any different than the 190 that i had ...so i wired the fan on all the time and now it runs @ 160 all the time ..


acutally in winter weather there is no need to run the fan..so in a way tomp is right..but in summer anything cooling the engine is benificial

and the relay is optional but its safe to have a relay there

ill try to draw a diagram of what ive done

 

here's the diagram...i sketched it up pretty fast so excuse me if its not very good looking

 

one more thing about the system ive done is that it turns the fan off when u switch the ignition off...that way ur battery doesnt go dead when u forget to turn off the fan

 

I'm just saying that I don't see why you'd want 160 degrees if you're sitting in traffic, that's all. But I do agree 100% with your idea of using a relay!!

 

I had to scrap some of my old O-ring gasket off .It had melted on the metal of part of the waterneck and part of the manifold . But Im sure its still much less than scraping a paper one off .

 

Thanx 89camaroRS for the diagram !

 

anytime guys....

 

I've went thru a couple of thermostats and used the same o ring. So berlyn, if the o ring is in good shape, take it off the old thermostat and put it on the new one! Kind of a pain but you don't have to deal with paper gaskets and sealer crap!

 

my fan is always on even when i turn the ignition to ACC

its hooked to computer im guessin cuz its only one power supply wire running to it but oh well i guess its better to run all time and not to have the fan run at all

 

ok, some imports I've seen have a fan relay that keeps the fan going after the engine has stoped until the coolant reaches a certain temp, then the switch cuts power to the fan. this is on fwd vehicles.

As far as getting a 160* stat when the fans kick in around 220*, check the Wells paper catoalg. It lists the different coolant fan switches, the years they were available, and what their temp range is.

 

You guys should check the tech articles on the main page. There is a good article about fan switches, and i would install a new fan switch istead of istalling a relay, IMO that would better becuase I wouldn't have to think about it, plus with that you can also retain the OEM switch and aftermarket and switch between them and also have the ability to run the fan all the time too if you want to.

But defiantly read the article, it would defiantly be better in the long run!

 

yo.... thats exactly what my diagram does...it lets u use the fan when u want ..and also retains the original one....read the posts before ....

Btw I ALSO HAVE A SWITCH IN MY DIAGRAM

the relay is there only for safety reasons.....
(eg when u install fog lights dont ya put a relay ????)

 

Don't dump on me for this but,
YOUR COMPUTER IS FRIED!
I had my 1985 Firebird fan on, ALL THE TIME.
IT NEVER CYCLED ON & OFF (after I got the car).
I checked any/everything.
I replaced the computer.
Problem solved.
Eventually sold that broken computer and was shown what happened.
There was a BIG EXPLOSION (meltdown) on the main circuit board.
IF your fan runs all the time, fan relay on firewall (costs $22-wasted money!) or the computer.
The fan relay sensor for the 1985 is on the BACK of the passenger side, cylinder head.
SENSOR IS IN THE MOST AWFUL POSITION, unless the engine is removed!
Any 1985 computer swaps into your 1985 Firebird.
YOU MUST retain your original prom.
YOU MUST!
I used (was offered) a 1985 Corvette ECM to solve my constant fan on problem.
It is not good for the fan to be on all the time.
Cooling system is not designed to operate like that.

 

Yes, its not good to run all the time, there is such a thing as too cool!

 

my 3.1 had a gasket on it

 

that sounds like some MAJOR parasitic draw