If 4 row didn't cut it, then I would go to the new crossflow aluminum Rads then. I was happy with the 195. Even in winter time with a bunch of snow! Still ran hard and didnt go over 195 in the HOT summer sun. Like I said, its a daily driver for me. I didnt have another ride......Other then my V-Max but that wouldn't get me far in the winter time LOL.

And if you cant run to cold (160). Its hard on parts because the engine oil doesn't get to temp. Causes a lot of unnecessary wear for a dialy driver....

 

Never ever? :/
No matter what? ;)

You ain't got enough information to "know" this for sure yet, IMO.
His experience/information might be bogus. :/
But if it ain't bogus, it'd be cool to figure out what's going on, wouldn't it?

Alvin in AZ
360FE PA

 

Wes are you saying that the thermostat opens and closes to regulate water temps like the thermostat in your house keeps it warm or cool???

I always thought they closed up after several hours of sitting and opened up after the engine had started and had run for a few minutes, not to shut again until sitting for a few hours.

I don't understand how an engine will run cooler with a 160º over a 180º. Once it is opened, (the 160 will open before the 180) and the cylinders are pumping several hundred degrees each. Once opened it is up to the radiator, coolant, and air flow to keep things in check.

Bears truck does not have the open frontal area of your truck. His should run hotter because of that.


John

 

A 160 is cooler then a 180! A Thermostat helps to maintain the engine coolant temperature within the normal operating range.

A thermostat that is used in automobiles uses an internal combustion engine to regulate the flow of the coolant. When the thermostat is open, the coolant passes through the cylinder head where it looses the heat the air that flows through it. A water pump that is driven from the engine will propel the coolant around the system. When the thermostat is closed the flow is then prevented and the engine is then allowed to heat up to its optimum temperature.

This type of thermostat operates mechanically. It makes use of a wax pellet which is inside a sealed chamber. The wax is solid at low temperatures but when the engines heats up the wax will then melt and expand. The sealed chamber has an expansion provision that operates the rod that will open a valve when the operating temperature is exceeded. However, the operating temperature is fixed, but it is also determined by the specific composition of the wax. Therefore thermostats of this type can maintain different temperatures, often in the range of 70 degC to 90 degC, which is 160 to 200 degF.

Modern engines are run at over 80 degC or 180 degF, which is quite hot, but it is in order to run more efficiently and to reduce the emission of pollutants. A lot of thermostats contain a small hole in which they vent any gas that might get into the system. In other words, if air is introduced during the coolant replacement. Modern cooling systems contain a relief valve in the form of a spring-loaded radiator pressure cap, that has a tube leading to a partially filled expansion reservoir. Because of the high temperature, the cooling system becomes pressurized to a maximum that is set by the relief valve. The additional pressure will then increase the boiling point of the coolant and that would be above that of the atmospheric pressure.