thermostat & coolant questions

[1ekoms]

<95 3.2> Yesterday I had a coolant leak on the hose that feeds into the throttle body since I live in Texas instead of replacing it I just bought several feet of hose and bypassed the throttle body . I went ahead and flushed the engine, radiator and overflow resivor and added new coolant.
Today I was driving and noticed my engine temp getting hotter than it has in the past (around the N and O) I figure its time to replace the thermostat, I bought an murray plus+ with a jiggle valve from O'Rilley, Is this a good replacement? Also what is the correct water/coolant ratio I should use for Texas heat.

Scott S

<small>[ August 02, 2003, 10:40 PM: Message edited by: 1ekoms ]</small>

 

[Jr's Sho]

I think as long as it has a jiggler valve you should be alright. I've used two Autozone thermostats with no problems and they come with one valve in them. As far as coolant, either 50-50 or 70-30, I don't really know.

 

[LaTechSHO]

yes thats a good thermostat... i would run a 50/50 mixture and since you are in the concrete jungle of heat known to some as houston, i'd run by your local pepboys and pickup a $5 bottle of redline water wetter...add that in to... works wonders

however... you do know that the thermostat most likely isn't the reason it is running hot don't you? the thermostat keeps the engine from running below a certain temperature.... unless of course your thermostat was stuck closed.... if that is the case, then you just fixed your problem

Louis

 

[shojuan]

Your car probably got hotter than normal because it was purging air out of the system. These cars can be a little tricky to get all the air out after a coolant change. In fact some manufacturers of V6 motors include a pair of air purge ports on either bank, but sadly not the SHO.

FWIW, I run about 30-35% coolant and a bottle of water wetter. I just change it more often to keep the corrosion inhibitors fresh. Drain the radiator once a year, replace with 35% coolant, 65% water and a new bottle of water wetter.

Some trivia: Water has twice the heat capacity as coolant. In some tropical countries standard coolant mixtures can be as low as 10% coolant and 90% water. Coolant for sale in those areas has much high concentrations of corrosion inhibitors to take that into account. The 50/50 mix we are familiar with is a North American standard, the idea being you can drive to just about anywhere in North America any time of the year and have adequate freezing protection if you're running a 50/50 mix (of course some places in Canada and Alaska need a 70/30 mix eek! )

 

[Shoaz]

shojuan:
FWIW, I run about 30-35% coolant and a bottle of water wetter. I just change it more often to keep the corrosion inhibitors fresh. Drain the radiator once a year, replace with 35% coolant, 65% water and a new bottle of water wetter.

Some trivia: Water has twice the heat capacity as coolant. In some tropical countries standard coolant mixtures can be as low as 10% coolant and 90% water. Coolant for sale in those areas has much high concentrations of corrosion inhibitors to take that into account. The 50/50 mix we are familiar with is a North American standard, the idea being you can drive to just about anywhere in North America any time of the year and have adequate freezing protection if you're running a 50/50 mix (of course some places in Canada and Alaska need a 70/30 mix eek! )

In warmer climes (like here in AZ) running 100% water is not unheard of, but adding water wetter or some other corrosion inhibitor is necessary if you want to do that for very long.

Many race groups require 100% water (and water wetter is allowed) since water is less slippery on the track than antifreeze (antifreeze can be worse than oil as far as creating a track hazard).

My motocycle racing friends tell me that they're always required to run 100% water at the track. Our two-wheeled friends get particularly tense about track conditions with good reason.