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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / THERMOSTATS

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Posted By Discussion Topic: THERMOSTATS     sarahcecelia 08-24-2020 @ 9:05 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1183 Joined: Mar 2013 My initial thread was not about a car that was over heating; it was just about the use/ non use of thermostats. Regards, Steve Lee sarahcecelia 08-24-2020 @ 9:02 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1183 Joined: Mar 2013 The only purpose that themostats serve, are to get the motor up to temp quicker, and keeping it there, for more efficient operation. With out them, the motor would get to operating temp more slowly, causing some challenge to the moving parts, but would sustain it.( I heard In Canada they actually add, I believe, Kerosene to the oil, to keep the main bearings from burning out at initial start up from lack of lubrication; ( because the oil is so thick when the temps outside go really low.) I am in Florida, and could probably run NO THERMOSTATS, all summer long, only installing them maybe in late January, and taking them out in say April/May. Most winters at that time run 35 to 45 overnight, and 55 t0 60 during the day Regards, Steve Lee 56MarkII 08-21-2020 @ 8:30 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 63 Joined: Jan 2012 In my 1950 Mercury I'm running 180's with no problems and several days ago I was battling rush hour traffic in 95-98 (35-37) Celsius)degree temps we don't often get here. I have found when I lived in Canada's only semi arid desert Osoyoos, British Columbia back in the 80's that leaving thermostats out, placing in cooler, results in the temperature rising to the upper range of the gauge anyway! When it is hot outside the temperature of the engine goes up anyway so you may as well just leave in a pair of 160's anyway. One thing I can mention previously owning a 49 Meteor, 53 Ford, and 54 Meteor all with the flatheads is the Fords have smaller radiators! They will be more temperamental than my Mercury with a radiator that's massive in comparison. During the mid to high 90's I filled up at the local Costco gas station and one fellow asked what year my 50 was and how it was handling the heat? I said it was doing great because of the larger radiator but would be struggling if it was a Ford with smaller! On the highway the gauge was running an 1/8" away from the H so it was most likely up to 200-205 but as long as it's NOT BOILING we are okay! If your engine is running hot all the time with the coolant bubbling and gurgling when you shut off the engine indicating it's on the verge or is boiling consider taking the rad to a rad shop and get it cleaned as it may have scale buildup restricting the cooling. I would never run straight water as rust will result and I would run coolant as it inhibits rust. Coolant also raises boiling point BUT DO NOT mix it too strong!! Mixing your coolant too strong reduces the ability to radiate or dispapate heat. Up here in the Snow Mexican Republic of Canuckastan where it often drops to -40 or colder we have to make sure our coolant is strong enough but not to strong as it will shorten the life of our engine block heaters if mixed too strong. Years ago while working at a John Deere dealership in the service department a John Deere service advisor warned us of mixing too strong causing the block heaters to fail prematurely because they ran much hotter unable to disapate the heat. Yes I also run distilled water in my cooling systems because hard water creates scaling. If there is any scale in the block or cooling system the distilled water will eventually help dissolve or reduce it. Oh BTW over 35 years ago when I first purchased my 50 Mercury I heard the horror stories of flatheads running hot all the time and installed a noisy 6 blade truck engine fan. Years later I talked with others who had the 49-51 Mercuries that the 6 blade wasn't necessary unless driving in city rush hour traffic with lots of stop start and idling. When you are on the highway you can have a 4 or 6 blade and the ram air effect cancels out any advantage or disadvantage anyway! At speeds of 50-60+ you could run totally without a fan and our modern cars with electric fans only run when needed. carcrazy 08-18-2020 @ 10:20 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1653 Joined: Oct 2009 It is a personal choice. My recommendations would be to: thoroughly clean the radiator and cooling system, run 160 degree thermostats, and use Prestone anti-freeze that you mix with distilled water into a 50/50 mix or less solution. As long as you have a significant amount of Prestone in the cooling system, you won't need to add any water pump lube. If you live in a place where the temperature never drops below freezing, you can get by with running 100% distilled water with some water pump lube to prevent corrosion, especially if you have aluminum heads or other parts that come into contact with the coolant. 51woodie 08-18-2020 @ 7:25 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 510 Joined: Jan 2017 I agree with Tom. When I bought my '46 Coupe, 59AB, I had no history on its past maintenance. I pulled the rad and heater core for cleaning, flushing and pressure testing, and all was good. I replaced the water pumps and rad hoses with Drake parts. When I pulled the rad hoses, one thermostat was cocked sideways in the hose and the other was partially open. I replaced both stats with 160 deg. units. Engine temp ran at 160 deg., which is too cold. Swapped out with 180 deg. units, now the engine runs at 180 deg. while driving, it will sometimes hit 185 deg. in stop and go traffic. So I would suggest that the fellow needs to flush the rad and engine, install newer style water pumps, check to make sure any and all air deflectors and sealing strips around the rad are in place. Also, check the engine temp with a thermal heat gun, and compare it to the gauge reading in the dash. TomO 08-18-2020 @ 7:04 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7250 Joined: Oct 2009 Removing the thermostats in a car that is over heating, will not solve the problem unless the thermostats are incorrect for the engine or not functioning properly. Tom alanwoodieman 08-17-2020 @ 3:27 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 868 Joined: Oct 2009 living in the south, it is hot about 8 months a year and for the other 4 you may need a thermostat for about 2 months. Even with no thermostats the temp in three of my flatheads run about the correct temp (CHECKED WITH A HEAT GUN) for two months a year I use a 12 by 12 piece of cardboard MG 08-17-2020 @ 2:34 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1254 Joined: Nov 2009 I had to install thermostats to reach the optimum engine operating temperature....This in the warm climate where I live and drive.... This message was edited by MG on 8-17-20 @ 3:34 PM nelsb01 08-17-2020 @ 2:25 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 982 Joined: Oct 2009 I guess i would say: they were installed for a purpose. So why take them out if they are working as designed? sarahcecelia 08-17-2020 @ 8:17 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1183 Joined: Mar 2013 I met a guy at a car show with a 1949 ford sedan, that said he is trying NO THERMOSTATS to see if that keeps the motor, a V 8, temp down.I want to hear any and all comments about this. Regards, Steve Lee

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