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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / NAPA Thermostat

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Posted By Discussion Topic: NAPA Thermostat -- page: 1 2     Steves46 01-10-2010 @ 2:41 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 167 Joined: Oct 2009 Even here in Florida, my 46 is running way too cool without them. Since I understand the NAPA thermostats seem to be the best suited, does anyone have the P/N? Thanks. 37RAGTOPMAN 01-10-2010 @ 4:05 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1962 Joined: Oct 2009 steve46 I put a NAPA thermostat in a 4 cylinder Jeep F HEAD,and ALL it did was stick and almost overheat the engine,. it seemed to also most overheat then pop open, but one day the coolant blew all over,when I was plowing snow, so out came that piece of Junk. try finding some NOS STOCK, or give THE V8 SHOP a call or JOBLOT in NY,or LITTLE DEARBORN, THEY be a better way to go,they are always on e-bay just my 2 cents,37RAGTOPMAN Steves46 01-10-2010 @ 4:10 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 167 Joined: Oct 2009 Thank you; I will give them a call and keep an eye on E-Bay. Stroker 01-10-2010 @ 4:34 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 If all else fails, an old trick we used in the 50's in "Sunny So.Cal." was to install a fender washer the same diameter as the ID on the stat, with a 3/8" hole. The dual pumps on flatmotors will often pump so fast that the water doesn't have time to lose heat going through the radiator. The fender washer slows the coolant flow down to allow this to take place. Another (although "draconian") trick was to drill a 1/4" hole in each water pump impeller blade for the same reason. ford38v8 01-10-2010 @ 5:34 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2764 Joined: Oct 2009 Stroker, now you've opened up a real can of worms! I'm afraid, though, that the vast majority of guys these days will team up against that old opinion. The fender washer doesn't do any harm, but neither does it do any good, as the water will have shed as much heat as it gained in the same amount of time in the block. The holes in the water pumps were devised as a horsepower conservation measure in the oval track days. The function of the thermostat is to regulate the temperature. In most cases, it will open and remain open, but in extreme temperatures, a two or three square foot section of cardboard in front of the radiator will help the situation. Alan Alan Steves46 01-10-2010 @ 6:24 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 167 Joined: Oct 2009 Didn't mean to open a can of worms for I know this has been a "popular" topic over the years. Just finished rigging a 18 in wide x 10 in high piece of cardboard and placed it against the lower part of the radiator. Fired her up and within less than 10 minutes my mechanical gauges were reading 160. Much improvement! Thanks. 40fordor 01-10-2010 @ 7:32 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 116 Joined: Oct 2009 37RAGTOPMAN, I was on another forum and read that thermostats placed in old F head Jeeps needed a small weep hole drilled in them (if not already there) to allow just a little flow through it to prevent the problem that you described. It has been since the 50's that I was around those Jeeps but I had great fun with them. Check out a Jeep forum to verify what I read. Don 51f1 01-11-2010 @ 12:33 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 573 Joined: Oct 2009 Why are NAPA thermostats best suited? All brands are probably made in China and all brands are subject to failure. Go to any reputable parts dealer and buy your thermostats (NAPA will do just fine). Why do you leave out the thermostat? The thermostat serves the purpose of regulating your coolant temperature and accelerating warm-up. Leaving it out makes no sense. The guys who designed your engine knew what they were doing. If your engine doesn't cool with a thermostat in it, find out why and fix the problem. Richard Stroker 01-11-2010 @ 6:06 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 All: Sorry about the worms. I believe Alan's response to my fender washer recollection is probably spot-on. After further thought, I think the fender washer trick was designed to mitigate the problems we created by throwing the thermostats away, wrongly assuming that they were the cause of heating problems. I'll plead CRS, and go apply for my "Geezer Plate" at the Auto Dept. 37RAGTOPMAN 01-11-2010 @ 8:41 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1962 Joined: Oct 2009 40fordor When , I had that problem, of overheating in a middle of a snow storm, I removed the NAPA thermostat and looked at it, boy did in look familar, I went into my shop and had a few new 49-53 FORD FLATHEAD thermostats, and matched it up, it was a exact fit,same thermostat fit many many different make of cars,for years, not like today,,,, it was a 155 degree and it works perfect, a little less heat ,BUT ,I can live with it, I stay away from a lot of NAPA parts, most of them are made in CHINA, ever use a reman alternator, or starter,from NAPA, these are terrible, and not a warranty I can go to AUTOZONE to buy CHINA,at a cheaper price, its funny the CHINA parts are getting also expensive to buy also, they used to be cheaper, I think NAPA should have a better quality control, they should have put a small hole in the thermostat in the first place,,if that what was wrong with it, I threw it away, what a piece of c----,! why should the customer have to repair a new part to make it work, thanks,old JEEPS are fun, mine is a 64 CJ5, were is the old JEEP WEB SITE, can you repley to this to let me know, thanks 37RAGTOPMAN

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