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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Where is the thermostat

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Where is the thermostat -- page: 1 2     LanceD 10-08-2011 @ 9:55 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 54 Joined: Sep 2011 My car it's still having some overheating problems. So dumb question, where are the thermostats? I'm mechanically included but seriously lacking in thee knowledge department! -I know I have an old car, that's where my knowledge ends, Lance supereal 10-08-2011 @ 10:24 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 If there are thermostats, they can be found inside the upper radiator hoses just above the outlets on the cylinder heads. If you don't find any, don't be surprised, as many owners removed them in the hope it would help cooling. The stats sit atop the head outlets, and are supposed to stay in place. However, a good idea is to place an extra hose clamp on the upper hose just above the stat. Be sure that the bellows side of the stat faces the head, not the radiator. The most common rating is 160 degrees. If yours are old, place them in a pan of water on the stove, and heat them until they open, as you observe a thermometer in the water. Thermostats are not precision devices, but should open near or just above the rated temp. LanceD 10-08-2011 @ 11:29 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 54 Joined: Sep 2011 Okay well then that explains why I can't find it, there aren't any! So the question of why my car is running hot remains. Would not having a thermostat make the motor run hotter? Also if I do get thermostats for it do I have to get ones specifically for this car? Our can I use one from the local auto parts store -I know I have an old car, that's where my knowledge ends, Lance This message was edited by LanceD on 10-8-11 @ 11:40 AM TomO 10-08-2011 @ 4:43 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 Lance, when does your car overheat? Driving on the highway? Driving around town in heavy traffic? Idling in the driveway? A lot of us have problems when idling for long periods. It seems like the fan cannot draw enough air through the radiator at idle. The original Ford radiators dissipated heat better than the cores that have been available in the last 40 years. I don't use thermostats in my car, because I do not drive it in winter. I don't think the auto parts stores have the correct thermostats. Tom alanwoodieman 10-08-2011 @ 5:14 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 868 Joined: Oct 2009 has the car been sitting for awhile-I believe you just got the 39 ?, I would flush the motr/cooling system before attempting any other remedy, Put some flushing agant in the engine, run until it is warm then flush out and see what you get LanceD 10-08-2011 @ 5:16 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 54 Joined: Sep 2011 The car was over heating all the time. I did a lot of work on the car today. Flushed the cooling system again. Then I replaced the radiator cap as the old one didn't seal, it's not original but it works and this isn't a concourse car anyways. I picked up two thermostats, they aren't original or remans either. Finding one that works wasn't hard, just took a radiator house with me and a picture of the original one and found one that would fit, really wasn't a big deal. Then I refilled with 15% coolant, demineralized water and Water Wetter. Ended the day with a test drive, a little bit of city and a lot of highway. The car heated up to 180 very quickly then stayed between 180 and 200 the entire time and held 180 on the highway. Seems like maybe I have fixed it! Then again I thought it was fixed last time so we'll see. -I know I have an old car, that's where my knowledge ends, Lance alanwoodieman 10-08-2011 @ 7:43 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 868 Joined: Oct 2009 I drive two flathead vehicles, put about 120 miles on my 41 today-run the new style water pumps in both, water wetter, no thermostats,50/50 mixture and drive like I stole them. Since I changed the pumps to the high flow and no thermostats no matter how hot the weather is, nor how hard I drive them neither one overheats, I do like the highflow water pumps. PS I live in SC LanceD 10-09-2011 @ 12:21 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 54 Joined: Sep 2011 Well pulling the motor out to change the pumps isn't really an option at this point. I pulled the top hoses off the motor had some water running in the radiator and ran the motor for a second. Both pumps were pushing a good amount of water and they've kept the motor cool for longer then I've been alive so I'll let them keep at it. If anything is gonna get replaced it's gonna be the radiator. Water flow through it well, and water coming out is thirty degrees cooler then water going in but that probably could be better. -I know I have an old car, that's where my knowledge ends, Lance fomocoloco 10-09-2011 @ 4:36 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 85 Joined: Jun 2010 It's hard to follow your train of thought when mention pulling the motor to change pumps. Have the radiator rodded out. Skip Haney in Fla. rebuilds pumps w/ an improved impeller that almost doubles the amount of water to the radiator. weezer supereal 10-09-2011 @ 6:48 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 You don't have to pull the engine to change water pumps. I won't go into details unless you are ready to do it. As for having the radiator cleaned and repaired, unless you know of a shop that actually knows what they are doing, it is likely a waste of time. The last one we sent out came back in worse shape than went we sent it out!

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