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You can see rubber seal on valve where it open/close when reach temp.
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Picture of whole thermostat
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G'day Fellas,

I'm in the process of flushing the Green OEM Coolant out to replace it with ELC.
Following Gooche's proceedure I lifted the OEM Thermostat out and suprise..suprise I noticed the rubber inner ring seal as in the photo above 95% gone. Just a couple of pieces about 10mm long left in one area .





It's the same Wahler Thermostat pictured at top from another thread.
I have no idea how long it has been in this state . It can't have been operating proper at all. That is because the series of 25 approx 1mm dia holes that the rubber sealing ring is molded into to hold it in place were all fully exposed and allowing coolant bypass at all temperatures.
No idea where the rest of the rubber sealing ring is? It hasn't flushed out anywhere yet.
Funny thing is I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Maybe without taking much notice it was possibly taking a long time to reach optimum operating temperature. I have a coolant guage showing coolant temps around 190*F after running for some time on the road.

I'm obviously going to have to change this Thermostat. Trouble is out here in Australia there isn't a Nappa store on the corner.
I contacted Ford Australia via the Stealership here and their price is .... stand by... sit down AUS$211.00 (US$221). Typical of the problems we face here for maintaining these trucks..
So I'll get a hold of Clay and see if can send one out asap.

Problem is I have flushed out the cooling system as per Gooches proceedure. I'm at the stage of adding the new ELC.
There is no point putting this theremostat back in and I don't want to top up with new coolant and have to drop it out to fit a new thermostat.

Is it ok just to leave the water only in there to keep everything moist for a few days to a week until I get the thermostat?
I'll not run the truck at all just keep it topped up with water until I get one from Clay?

What would you fellas do in this situation?

Cheers,
Reg.
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If clay cant help ya, let me know. I'll be happy to pick one up from where ever you like (Napa, Ford, Clay, etc..) and ship it to you. Just cover the costs. Didnt realize it was so expensive there!

If I were you I would add a coolant filter too, just in case there are remnants bouncing around.

 

G'day Fellas,

Thank you Trey for your kind offer, that's what this forum community is all about .
I've sent an SOS to Clay for an express delivery.
Even with Express mail out to here making the door delivery (part + freight) a total of US$66 is a damn side better than US$221.

Changing from Green to OAT Red ELC:
I decided to continue with the full flush (3 times over) and refill with ELC.
Figured that I'll just drain off 20Ltrs into a clean drum and fit the new Thermostat when it arrives and refill with the clean drained ELC.

So I stuck the 'not so good' thermostat back in and filled up with new ELC.
I let it idle for a good 20 mins and it got up to about 120* and I took it for about an 5ml run nice and easy. Temp got up about 150*.
AS it was dark when I got back I'll check it all out in the morning.

Is there any damage that can be done driving the truck with such low temp for maybe (I estimate) 20 to 30ml before I see 180/190*F?

I ask this because that thermostat must have been in this condition for some time and I didn't really notice any drama. Once a few miles were done the temp sat around 190*F.
Or should I play safe and just wait for the new Thermostat to arrive?

Cheers,
Reg

 

Hi Reg,

theoretically there will be more wear driving on an engine that is sub-optimal in operating temp. But as your old thermastat shows, & assuming the use of the correct oils and service intervals, the wear of the metal parts in your engine is going to be a lot slower than the degradation of all the various seals in the engine.

I replaced my truck's thermastat last year with an IH spec 205 degree unit and a billet T-stat housing. The only thing I've noticed is that the engine gets up to temp within the first mile of driving. I've got guages for engine oil temp & for the coolant temp. The change of opening temp on the t-stat has not visibly changed the operating temps shown on either of the guages other thAn the faster warm up.

BTW, I have my take-out stock T-stat in the garage, just checked the rubber seal and it is fully in tact. If you want it express posted to you please PM me! $211 for a T-stat is robbery!

 

G'day Simon,

I'm aware that running a cold donk aint good especially Diesel Compression Ignition.
That is why I'm now worried that some wear/seal damage has been done. Simply because I do not know how long this Thermostat has been like this with no inner rubber seal????
How long have I been doing this??? I'm as you know, 6 weeks away 6 weeks at home. The wife drives it when I'm not here. But she like me always lets it warm up as best we can before taking off. Done a big outback trip last time home towing offroad van. Cold weather etc. But most of the time the Coolant temp guage was around 180/190*F.
I cannot for the life of understand how this seal could have come off on it's own accord?
I for one have never touched it until now. This seal is molded onto both sides of that inner ring via those 25 small holes. The small 10mm piece that was still there was attached both sides via two of those little holes.

How do I PM or Call you Simon?

Cheers,
Reg

 

No worries, you haven't damaged anything. Not getting up to full operating temp will not let the fuel be burned as efficiently, and and condensation buildup inside the engine may not be evaporating fully, especially on short trips. Your coolant not getting completely up to temp isn't any different than driving the truck shorter distances & not getting up to temp. Many trucks make short trips every day where they don't get up to temp. Not the best scenario, but I really wouldn't worry about it.

 

Got a spare here (new in box) Reg. Let me know I can get it off today. Oh and if you click on the posters name a drop menu will come up with the option to send a "Private Message" (PM)

 

G'day Mark,

Thanks for the reply. Makes sense especially when you consider the many short runs these trucks must do over there and in Sub-Sub-Zero temps.

Never gets cold here so not such an issue.

I guess if I let it idle to a reasonable warm up and get driving it will be ok. I expect to get another Thermostat asap.

Cheers,
Reg.

 

My point was that many seals age with time rather than use, e.g. the rubber seal on the old T-stat has aged and failed long before the metal parts did.

So any increased wear on the engine from running cold is going to be insignificant because, if the engine is well maintained, eventually what will happen is that some of the seals will degrade with age and fail.

Therefore, there is no need to be worrying about increase wear from cold running cause of a leaky T-stat. The limiting factor on the engine is not going to be metal wear like the pistons, bores, or cam lobes wearing off. It will be various engine seals going the same way as the original T-stat seal (i.e. MIA).

 

Good Day Mate,

When pieces like the rubber seal come loose in the cooling system they will most likely be captured in the section of the oil cooling heat exchanger. There are numerous small tubes like straws and the piece can get side-ways on the tube inlet. Too much blockage will not allow proper heat transfer between the coolant and oil. Whenever you see a leakage in that area you will need to change out the o-rings on both ends of that unit and you will probably find those pieces.

 

G'day Fellas,

Well I'm back with a fully functioning cooling system .

Brian (Chunderdownunder) express posted a thermostat over to me from Sydney last week (FTE Brotherhood to the rescue ).
I put it in and all's good. With the change to OAT RED LLC it will be easier to maintain the coolant system from now on.

I've still got a thermostat coming from Clay, so got a spare.

The thermostat from Brian is a differant design from the OEM one that was in there. You can see the difference in the pics in the earlier post in this thread.
The defected OEM had a round outer edge. When in place it sat in the housing recess and the square section 'O'ring sat on top of it and the hose stand pipe bolted down to form the seal.
The one from Brian has a "Castellated" outer edge with the seal fitted around that edge with the steped castellations holding the seal in place.
A much better design it seems.

IHUD: thanks for the point on the the small pieces of broken away rubber seal possibly ending up wedged in some of the Oil Cooler tubes.
I'll keep a good eye on EOT. Fortunately most water tube heat exchangers are designed to cope with a good 15 to 20% blockage of the tube nest before any real signes of poor heat exchange are noticed.
It may well have gone through the water pump a few times and has been chewed into tiny granules and was flushed out during the 3 flushes it did in changing coolant type .


Anyway fellas, it's all good now and thank you all for the feed back.

Cheers,
Reg

 

Glad to hear your're good to go Aussie.
Just curious while on this topic. I put my old T-stat in my old wp to see how much its bottom would have to move to seal off when it is up to temp. It will have to move approx. 1/2", maybe 5/8" for the small circular plate to contact that small tube in the wp.
Does that spring in the t-stat actually allow that much movement when up to operating temp? My old and new t-stat is just like the pic in the first post.