Ditch the Thermostat?

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seabee

seabee

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I know it's an age old question. I live in Southern California and have the heater core bypassed on my 273. Would love to hear what you guys think.
 
Sorry should have been a little clearer-It's been running consistently hot at idle, or on the highway. New thermostats, pump and timing and temp gauge have not changed a thing. The top radiator hose feels pressurized and hard to squeeze even after warmed up . I have an Edelbrock intake manifold and have tried three thermostats. I'm begining to think they just aren't opening.
 
Quote = Ditch the Thermostat, I have seen cars run hot with out a Thermostat.
It keeps the water in the radiator longer so you have cool water to help keep the engine at a perfect temp.
If there is a cold shot of weather you may need it the heater , and setting with no fluid and antifreeze it might start rooting out and go bad. Just thinking out loud
 
It also helps restrick coolant flow so it stays in the radiator longer to cool. Removing it could result in the coolant moving so fast thru the radiator, you'll overheat.
 
Sounds like your radiator might be plugged up inside or outside, No flow some where
Did this start when you changed intakes ?
 
Thermostat only controls minimum temperature (What I mean is that it can still overheat with a good thermostat)..

If it is getting hot at highway speeds you may have a clogged radiator. You can check your thermostat by dropping it in a pan of boiling water.
 
how long has it been since you had the coolant flushed? there is a "mud" like sludge that builds up in the block between the outside of the cylinder walls in the coolant passages that can really reak habbit on cooling systems and can't be fixed with all the new parts you want to throw on it, also before installing the intake did you make sure the coolant passages had no restrictions that may not have got punched out? might be a cheap fix for you to flush the coolant. also theromostat helps engine get to operating temp quicker and not use so much fuel running cold
 
memike said:
Sounds like your radiator might be plugged up inside or outside, No flow some where
Did this start when you changed intakes ?
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Thanks for the replies everyone. It already had the Manifold when I got it. Wife bought it as a gift so I am still deciphering everything so I don't really know the mechanical history of it.

Radiator being clogged is something too. I have flushed it several times. But when squeezing the upper radiator hose I'm not getting that surge of flow feeling you would expect.
 
by what your saying you may have a clogged radiator then or the thermostat is sticking, never use the NAPA thermostats, I have had 7 of them and none of them the least bit good! the radiator can be unclogged at a rad shop they use a special type of acid under low pressure to unclog them usually works pretty well. If you take the rad out of the car and take it to them (prevents acid accidents with paint) they may not charge very much, last one I got done was 45 at a local shop
 
Wow!! How did he get the pictures of that nice Barracuda to change like that 8)8)8)8)8)
I would say a flow problem like 66plyvaliant said 8)
 
I had a friend that put a Caddy 472 in his CJ7. For some reason, he did not run a thermostat... BUT, he made a plate with a bunch of holes in it to restrict the flow a bit. If he ran without the plate, it ran way hotter and would overheat. I would agree with above posts, have your rad flushed or rodded out. A good rad shop that actually works on rads instead of just ordering a new one, will take the tanks off and actually push rods through the tubes to make sure they are not restricted.
 
Thanks everyone. I think I'll give a Rad shop a try and go from there. I appreciate all the inputs :)


memike said:
Wow!! How did he get the pictures of that nice Barracuda to change like that 8)8)8)8)8)
I would say a flow problem like 66plyvaliant said 8)
Click to expand...
It's an animated gif. Here's a site that makes em free and simple.:http://www.makeagif.com/
 
It's an age-old question, and the correct answer has always been the same: No. "Remove the thermostat" is never the right answer for repairing cooling (overheating) problems. Occasionally it can mask the symptoms, but it never solves the problem, and it creates bigger ones. See this post for some topical discussion.
 
Most hoses that used to come with springs no longer do. The official explanation is that the newer hose material doesn't require it. That's a reasonable explanation as far as it goes, and the circumstances under which a lower hose collapse can actually happen are quite uncommon. Remember, the cooling system is pressurised.
 
I'm confused. How can a car without a thermostat run hotter than with one? Allowing the water to stay in the radiator longer doesnt make sense, because while the water in the radiator is cooling down, the water in the motor is heating up. It's the flow into and out of the radiator that provides the cooling effect. Which means that more flow results in cooler temperatures. I am assuming that the radiator is sized correctly.

If you buy a 180 thermostat, it opens at 180 degrees. If you buy a 120 thermostat, it runs at 120 degrees. That means that the lower the thermostat, the lower your temperature runs. That implies that no thermostat will provide the lowest operating temperature. Ever had a thermostat stick open? No heat at all, and the temp gauge stays on the cool side. Thats the same as having no thermostat at all.
 
jeryst said:
I'm confused. How can a car without a thermostat run hotter than with one? Allowing the water to stay in the radiator longer doesnt make sense, because while the water in the radiator is cooling down, the water in the motor is heating up. It's the flow into and out of the radiator that provides the cooling effect. Which means that more flow results in cooler temperatures. I am assuming that the radiator is sized correctly.

If you buy a 180 thermostat, it opens at 180 degrees. If you buy a 120 thermostat, it runs at 120 degrees. That means that the lower the thermostat, the lower your temperature runs. That implies that no thermostat will provide the lowest operating temperature. Ever had a thermostat stick open? No heat at all, and the temp gauge stays on the cool side. Thats the same as having no thermostat at all.
Click to expand...


All of this is wrong.

I'm drinking beer tonight so I'm not going to explain why.
 
thermostat opens at 120 degrees doesnt mean the car will run at that temp, the 120 degree thermostat will stay open and not allow time for the water to kewl in the radiator thus running hotter. I run a 195 * thermostat in my 340 duster here in sunny hot florida, the engine runs at 180* and goes up to 190* idling or sitting in traffic
jeryst said:
I'm confused. How can a car without a thermostat run hotter than with one? Allowing the water to stay in the radiator longer doesnt make sense, because while the water in the radiator is cooling down, the water in the motor is heating up. It's the flow into and out of the radiator that provides the cooling effect. Which means that more flow results in cooler temperatures. I am assuming that the radiator is sized correctly.

If you buy a 180 thermostat, it opens at 180 degrees. If you buy a 120 thermostat, it runs at 120 degrees. That means that the lower the thermostat, the lower your temperature runs. That implies that no thermostat will provide the lowest operating temperature. Ever had a thermostat stick open? No heat at all, and the temp gauge stays on the cool side. Thats the same as having no thermostat at all.
Click to expand...
 
It's all about heat disipation rate. The coolant must be in contact with the iron of the block for a fixed amount of time for the heat to transfer to the coolant, few seconds, and the hot coolant must be in contact with the tubes of the rad for a certain amount of time for the heat to transfer to the tubes. If you flow to fast the heat in the block essentially doesn't get transferred properly which without a thermostat (that also acts as a flow orifice) will flow very fast.
Think of a thermo tile on the space shuttle which disipates the heat very very slowly and compare to an aluminum head which disipates it's heat faster than a cast iron head.
 
The more I read and think about this problem the it points towards the radiator or block having a restricted flow. The temp gauge shows that when at peak constant temp, either idling or cruising, is high. I've tested and replace the gauge (oem) and same exact temp reading (which is a hash mark not a numerical temp). New temperature sending unit results are the same.

So my reasoning is that there is restricted flow through either the radiator, block, or both that keeps this temp consistently high without an absolute boil-over. Fan shroud is another factor but putting my ear up the grill I hear and feel lots of suction through the rad. The first time I drained the coolant there was lots of rust and floating goop. when I changed the pump I noticed calcium deposits in the inlets to the block.

The more i find out about the mechanical condition of this car the more pissed I get. When I went to pick it up the shiny paint, interior, tires and rims, had me assuming that my wife picked a winner. I briefly looked under the right side tire well (which happen to have the only new tie rod end, brake line, and upper ball joint and assumed (I was Navy so know what ASSUMED spells out), that this car was sound.

Don't get me wrong, I like to wrench on my cars, and usually learn by trial and error (usually more error than trial) but this one is getting frustrating. Again, I appreciate the feedback and advice. Where were you guys ten years ago when I was underneath my bolt-on behemoth 72' Charger?
 
You don't even need a fan or shroud at highway speed and you are getting hot at that speed. Have you hooked up a real mechanical gauge so you can tell what the actual temp is?

It may not be running hot at all. Are only using a 40+ year old gauge as your reference?
 
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