Overheating/Leaking (spewing) coolant from cap
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Substantia Nigra
New Member
Yes, a lower tstat will lower the effectiveness of your climate control's heating. So your tstat failed and stuck closed?
robert francis
Member
I have an LMS tune and thermostat and never had any problems.
SM105K
Streetlight Grand Prix Champ/ IG @fafomotorsports
Why lower T-Stats are a gimmick...
Tuner University lays it out. There is a reason I have and always will run a stock temp rated t-stat for a street car. Engines are designed to run at a certain temp by the manufacturer for a reason. The "performance" gains are irrelevant.
Tuner University lays it out. There is a reason I have and always will run a stock temp rated t-stat for a street car. Engines are designed to run at a certain temp by the manufacturer for a reason. The "performance" gains are irrelevant.
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I can only assume that's what happened. I could operate both valves by hand, although the primary valve is a bit tough. I didn't go squeezing the new one to compare to.
So question to everyone - what are NORMAL operating temps for the car that you experience? I've been monitoring mine now with the 180* Autozone Murray/Motorad unit and they are consistently in the 210-224* range. Is this good? bad?
SM105K
Streetlight Grand Prix Champ/ IG @fafomotorsports
My stock Ford T-Stats runs around 190* with normal driving conditions. When I drive it spirited, I see a spike to 210 ish* then back down to 190* even in 110 to 115* heat here in AZ.
SM105K
Streetlight Grand Prix Champ/ IG @fafomotorsports
Remember, the air has to pass through the condenser and intercooler before it gets to the radiator. If those are obstructed or filled with crap then your radiator will not be able to do it's job properly. Also, have you confirmed that both of your electric fans are turning on and running properly. My fans are super noticable when they turn on as well.
The numbers I posted are with verified "healthy" fans. I also cleaned my condenser and radiator when I swapped the GH IC in. When I removed the GH IC, I did the process again and cleaned the stock replacement IC I re-installed.
Bluezone
Tailgaters will be prosecuted.
Your numbers in Arizona are phenomenally good. Congratulations.
I've have a 160 thermostat. With the AC on, in humid + 80° weather my temperatures are around 185 °. The range is generally around 180 to 195. Depending on whether or not I'm on the flat or climbing a hill. Long down Hills will see a dip to 175°.
With the 160° thermostat my temperature is usually settled in around 180-185° with the AC off in the same weather. There is a point where there is diminishing returns with the lower temperature thermostat. Remember though, I have my water cooled PTU plumbed parallel in the heater core Cooling loop.
yaycandy
Aerospace Engineer
You should never use an additive to help a leak. Every time ive used it in other vehicles ive had heater hoses blow from the stuff gunking up. They will help find the weak spot though when something goes. Use the additives in a car you dont plan on keeping for long. Dont use it in a car you want to have for long term.
Substantia Nigra
New Member
With 170 tstat never seen it go above 185
Yep, fans are turning on and blow strong as judged by sticking my hand in front of them.
Is it possible that my $9 thermostat has poor quality control and is really a 200*+ tstat?
On a side note - why get rid of the upgraded intercooler and go back to stock?
luigisho
SHO Member
maybe. Are you talking about the current one or the one you removed? Quality for most parts, especially aftermarket, is pretty low. For a few shekels more get oem parts. I used to think the aftermarkekt was close enough. Until you have to do it twice and not get a refund because..whatever reason. Get the good stuff. Your labor is worth more than the small savings on most parts.
I have the 160t stat from LMS as part of a performance pack I bought back when I didn’t know I didn’t like LMS. I remember it didnt come with a new oring gasket and I thought that was ridiculous. It wasn’t until I had the OEM one out that I opened their tstat, so I didn’t know it didn’t come with a new gasket until I was already in the middle of swapping them. So I just reused the OEM gasket. Considering the fact that I’m not a mechanic and knew it’s best to also replace a gasket…..I was taken back by that lack of thought/care from failing to provide one. Shouldn’t that be standard?? If I bought a new outlet cover….I’d be shocked if it didn’t come with new screws…..like wtf? Then later learning more about the car, I didn’t know that Motorcraft sp534 plugs were stock…….after already buying LMS (Precision gapped) plugs to .030………..not knowing much at the time I assumed these were upgraded plugs….I didn’t know I paid about $100 for some a$$ clown to pre gap (stock) plugs…….that moment when you realize you were taken advantage of simply by not knowing enough information. It’s sad the kind of $h-it some of these companies pull and ppl unknowingly fall for it. Preying on ppl lacking information. Weird to think of what type of person would do this intentionally (Dan Millen). Another trick LMS would do is if you drove all the way to Michigan for a custom dyno tune, you would get a bill for 6 new spark plugs plus labor as “standard” procedure…..even if your plugs had 100 miles on them or 6k. Dude is just a slime ball. And I bet they didn’t actually change them.
SM105K
Streetlight Grand Prix Champ/ IG @fafomotorsports
Because the GH IC with my car actually lost horsepower. The stock IC with my DIY spray bar makes more hp. I have it all documented with data, temps and dyno runs in my build thread.
Well both, I guess actually since they are both Motorad. But I was specifically referring to the one I just bought for $9 that's supposed to be 180* to see if the tstat was the problem, which it appears it was. But I figured with the tstat so accessible and I just bought it to test if it was the problem, I didn't care about having to do it twice. Guess I'll pick up a Reische 170* and see if my temps lower any.
My autozone tstat didn't come with a gasket either :-/
luigisho
SHO Member
Yeah Motorad has been around forever but almost all parts mfg has gone overseas and used cheaper mfg. materials. It's sad really.
Brick and mortar thermostats are just junk in general, back in the day they made them right, now they can be off 20 degrees. Me and a few of my friends have all been screwed. OEM or Reische is only way to go now.
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That's not a normal temp range. I've driven in 100 degree heat, AC on, and didn't go over 200.
shoblock
SHO Member
For the last 50+ years, whenever I buy a new thermostat, I always do this before installing- I put a pan of water on the stove and turn on the heat with the thermostat and a cooking thermometer in the water. I usually throw in the one I'm replacing to compare. Put in a collander or something to space them off the bottom so they don't react to the more intense heat at the bottom of the pan. Then, you watch and wait. My 160 stat opened at 162 and the stock one opened also when it was supposed to, so I saved it. Only ever had one fail, but it would have overheated my car cause it didn't open at all. The parts store just exchanged it without argument. The good news is if you have one that opens at a different number, say, a 180 opens at 172, you can install it and watch your temperature gage, which is usually not graduated with numbers, and see where to expect the needle to be for future reference. Never had one open at exactly the right temp. It's just wax melting inside the housing, and failure is usually due to the thermostats mechanical movement binding up. Also, it takes them awhile to fully open, so you can play with the stove heat to see if it fully opens holding a single temp. My two cents.
SHOBLOCK
SHOBLOCK
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