Thermostat Question
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Senior User
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: Guayaquil
Thermostat Question
Hello everyone,
I live in a hot city where most of the year temperature is 90-100 degrees or more sometimes. PLease tell me how does a thermostat work? My mechanic removed mine 6 years ago saying it didn't do me any good because of the constantly high temp in my city. I was interested in buying one of those "performance" thermostats from JET but I don't know why would one of these be good for me since I don't know how they work. What do you think? SHould a 1988 F-250 with a 4.9 300 in line have one of these in this weather?
thanks!!
I live in a hot city where most of the year temperature is 90-100 degrees or more sometimes. PLease tell me how does a thermostat work? My mechanic removed mine 6 years ago saying it didn't do me any good because of the constantly high temp in my city. I was interested in buying one of those "performance" thermostats from JET but I don't know why would one of these be good for me since I don't know how they work. What do you think? SHould a 1988 F-250 with a 4.9 300 in line have one of these in this weather?
thanks!!
Cargo Master
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,690
Likes: 6
Unless the temp in your city is a constant 195 degrees, you need a thermostat. Your mechanic is a complete moron. I wouldn't take my vehicle to him any longer. He probably don't think you need oil in your engine either. Here's how a thermostat works.
It is a spring loaded dodad that remains closed thus keeping coolant in the engine block until the fluid reaches 195 degrees. At that temp the tstat opens up and lets the 195 deg water flow into the radiator to be cooled down by air blowing through the radiator fins. Now since the tstat opens at 195 that means that the temp will probably go a bit higher until plenty of cool water enters the block. When the temp of the water at the tstat is below 195 then it closes. That cycle happens over and over forever. Without a tstat your vehicle won't ever get to the 195 degree temp it needs to run optimally.
And epncsu is right. You don't need a performance one. I can't even for the life of me figure out what one could do to a tstat to make it a "performance" tstat.
It is a spring loaded dodad that remains closed thus keeping coolant in the engine block until the fluid reaches 195 degrees. At that temp the tstat opens up and lets the 195 deg water flow into the radiator to be cooled down by air blowing through the radiator fins. Now since the tstat opens at 195 that means that the temp will probably go a bit higher until plenty of cool water enters the block. When the temp of the water at the tstat is below 195 then it closes. That cycle happens over and over forever. Without a tstat your vehicle won't ever get to the 195 degree temp it needs to run optimally.
And epncsu is right. You don't need a performance one. I can't even for the life of me figure out what one could do to a tstat to make it a "performance" tstat.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,781
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From: Central NY
They are more for performance engine with/or highflow water pumps. The pressure from a highflow pump can keep the cheaper thermostats from opening and cause overheat conditions. For regular use a std thermostat would be fine and for Abelmoreno I would recommend the cheaper 190 - 195 degree ones that are like $3 - $4.
I would also suggest a new radiator cap and remind him that antifreeze should be in a 50/50 to 70/30 mixture, Do not run straight coolant.
Also you need to consider how much water is remaining in the block, it does not all drain out. I'm not sure how many quarts the 4.9 takes, but my 5.0 takes 13 quarts and If I flush with water I can pour 2 gallons (8 quarts) of coolant straight in to top it off and stay in the proper "mix" range. (IE - if I had to add 8 quarts to fill a 13 quart sytem there must have been 5 still in the block which is a 60/40 mix)
Hope this made sense,
Tim
I would also suggest a new radiator cap and remind him that antifreeze should be in a 50/50 to 70/30 mixture, Do not run straight coolant.
Also you need to consider how much water is remaining in the block, it does not all drain out. I'm not sure how many quarts the 4.9 takes, but my 5.0 takes 13 quarts and If I flush with water I can pour 2 gallons (8 quarts) of coolant straight in to top it off and stay in the proper "mix" range. (IE - if I had to add 8 quarts to fill a 13 quart sytem there must have been 5 still in the block which is a 60/40 mix)
Hope this made sense,
Tim
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Tuned
Joined: May 2005
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From: MI
Originally Posted by qman
There it is. It must be that a performance tstat is one that opens and closes more quickly and precisely than the others. RC Dan, do you have any info as to how much that really matters.
http://performanceunlimited.com/illustrations/thermostats.html
Read the top half of the article. The one they are talking about is the Mr.Gasket one. Besides not being affected by pressure, it also opens at a more precise temp and can't fail closed like standard ones. I've noticed a large difference when I switched over to this stat. My old stat would let my engine get pretty hot before opening and cooling back down. And no, I don't have a high flow pump. Its just a few bucks more.
Last edited by RC Dan; Dec 9, 2005 at 08:35 PM.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
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From: Bonita Springs FL
I've seen several people say that their temp gauge swings up quite a bit and then the t-stat opens, bringing the temp down to the N in normal. I've never once seen this behavior in any of my trucks. I always get the generic t-stat from Napa, too.
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 371
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From: Wetaskiwin, Alberta
Ya know, I have always wondered about the vagaries of the performance of the temp guages in our trucks. The guage in mine goes up to just above the "O" after a few miles with a cold motor. Once it hits that point I can watch it fall back just a bit - which I take it to mean that the T-Stat has opened. For the rest of the trip the needle will make slight movements up and down within a few "degrees" of the "N" on the unmarked guage. I assume - right or wrong - that this is representative of the T-Stat opening and closing as it is required to do. I know that there have been some really lenghty threads on this topic and there are a lot of different opinions on what is right or wrong about the readings on these factory guages. I guess as long as I am reasonably confident that the damn thing is working and will shoot to the top if the motor does get too hot then I can live with it until I find a way to plumb in a true guage.
Cheers!
Mike
Cheers!
Mike
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
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Originally Posted by MRL123
Ya know, I have always wondered about the vagaries of the performance of the temp guages in our trucks. The guage in mine goes up to just above the "O" after a few miles with a cold motor. Once it hits that point I can watch it fall back just a bit - which I take it to mean that the T-Stat has opened. For the rest of the trip the needle will make slight movements up and down within a few "degrees" of the "N" on the unmarked guage. I assume - right or wrong - that this is representative of the T-Stat opening and closing as it is required to do. I know that there have been some really lenghty threads on this topic and there are a lot of different opinions on what is right or wrong about the readings on these factory guages. I guess as long as I am reasonably confident that the damn thing is working and will shoot to the top if the motor does get too hot then I can live with it until I find a way to plumb in a true guage.
Cheers!
Mike
Cheers!
Mike
Sounds like you have a sticky thremostat which I have always been told to replace. It's just a matter of time before sticky turns to stuck.
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 6,473
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From: Lafayette, IN
Every time I've noticed movement in my temp gauges, it's been due to low fluid or a sticky thermo. When the system is operating correctly, it's always gone up to about the 'R' or so, then dropped back to between the 'N' and 'O' when the thermo opens--then it stays there. The only exception to this is heavy hauling, either trailer or payload, the temp may stay at a higher point, and fluctuate up or down depending on speed and hills.
Jason
Jason
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Senior User
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: Guayaquil
So, it means that without a stat, water which is always flowing will keep my engine working below the optimum temperature and with all the possible side effects the situation may produce.
Do you know where online can I purchase that Mr. Gasket stat?
Does anyone know how many quarts does a 4.9 300 has capacity for?
Do you know where online can I purchase that Mr. Gasket stat?
Does anyone know how many quarts does a 4.9 300 has capacity for?
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 371
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From: Wetaskiwin, Alberta
Hey Ford4.9 - Thanks for the input. I'm not liking the thought of either "sticky" or "stuck" so I'll be popping a new Ford 195 T-stat in the housing tomorrow. Winter in Alberta means that you cannot have a poorly working T-stat. Today the weather is great - tomorrow could be like waking up in a frozen form of Hell! I'm gonna keep a real close eye on how the guage responds to the new T-stat and may be posting furhter on this.
Cheers!
Mike
Cheers!
Mike