My thermostat went bad and i'v been drivi'n without one.I tried parts stores all over and none of them had anything but a 195 degree one which is stock and couldn't evan get anything in lower than a 180 degree, or so they said. so i settled for that one and havent put it in yet cuz i read an article on cooling mods and it said to drill four small holes in the body of the thermostat to increase flow and keep heat pockets from building up in the engine.My question is what do they mean by the body of it?.I'm thinking they mean on the outer rim of it but i'm not sure.Since i got a 180 degree thermostat some additional flow might be good ......Andy
Supreme Member
It's actually an old hot rodder's trick. Sometimes when you install a thermostat, you get an air pocket right below the 'stat. Suddenly, the car is overheating! And it's strange, because you just replaced the thermostat, so what the hell could it be? Well that air pocket is the problem. Coolant isn't touching the bottom of the thermostat, air is. And the thermostat isn't getting hot enough to open.
So by drilling 4 holes in the outer rim of the 'stat, any air pocket you create (by replacing the thermo) will disappear "up" into the upper radiator hose, and then get moved away by the cooling system. The holes give the air pocket a chance to escape, and for coolant to "rise" and touch the bottom of the thermostat. The side benefit is a little better cooling effect.
I have two holes drilled, "north and south", on my 160 'stat. I noticed after doing it that the car does run a bit cooler... i'd guess about 5 degrees? You've got a great chance since you're replacing the 'stat now- for someone thinking of this mod, I honestly wouldn't recommend it unless you need to replace the thermostat. It doesn't give that much of a benefit as far as power is concerned. You'll see more of a drop by going to the 180 'stat. Oh and Hypertech makes a 160 stat for our cars; I couldn't find one locally either, so I ordered mine from http://www.northernautoparts.com for $10. I looked it up in the hypertech catalog at http://www.hypertech-inc.com .
If you want to wait until tomorrow, I have a picture somewhere at home that I could scan in. Oh; I could draw something up really fast (and badly)...
So by drilling 4 holes in the outer rim of the 'stat, any air pocket you create (by replacing the thermo) will disappear "up" into the upper radiator hose, and then get moved away by the cooling system. The holes give the air pocket a chance to escape, and for coolant to "rise" and touch the bottom of the thermostat. The side benefit is a little better cooling effect.
I have two holes drilled, "north and south", on my 160 'stat. I noticed after doing it that the car does run a bit cooler... i'd guess about 5 degrees? You've got a great chance since you're replacing the 'stat now- for someone thinking of this mod, I honestly wouldn't recommend it unless you need to replace the thermostat. It doesn't give that much of a benefit as far as power is concerned. You'll see more of a drop by going to the 180 'stat. Oh and Hypertech makes a 160 stat for our cars; I couldn't find one locally either, so I ordered mine from http://www.northernautoparts.com for $10. I looked it up in the hypertech catalog at http://www.hypertech-inc.com .
If you want to wait until tomorrow, I have a picture somewhere at home that I could scan in. Oh; I could draw something up really fast (and badly)...
