195 better than 180 in my Vehicle?

Knebel

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Hey all,

I am trying to sort out some little things on my car before I can list it for sale :(. Cant enjoy it as much because of a back injury, it really really sucks. However, I am trying to figure something out with my cooling before.

I have replaced my one 16" Spal with a decent shroud and 2x 11" mishimoto fans that together pull 3400ish cfm. I dont have a heat issue really while cruising and such, It runs somwhere along 190 to 195. But it runs somewhat hotter with the AC on. 200...210 ish. I am using a high flow thermostat, 22" aluminium cooler, flowkooler pump.

I did wonder if it is better to put in a 195° thermostat? The engine runs in that range normally but would that give the coolant in the radiator more time to be cooled by the fans? I feel the 180° highflow opens too soon? Or am I chasing a non issue? I did notice the temp gets hotter when sitting and idle with the AC on, that seems to be a normal "issue" I read about a lot but I'm not 100% ok with it.

Where I am, you don't drive the car anymore, you sit in it waiting.

20230405_131052~2.jpg
 
Hey all,

I am trying to sort out some little things on my car before I can list it for sale :(. Cant enjoy it as much because of a back injury, it really really sucks. However, I am trying to figure something out with my cooling before.

I have replaced my one 16" Spal with a decent shroud and 2x 11" mishimoto fans that together pull 3400ish cfm. I dont have a heat issue really while cruising and such, It runs somwhere along 190 to 195. But it runs somewhat hotter with the AC on. 200...210 ish. I am using a high flow thermostat, 22" aluminium cooler, flowkooler pump.

I did wonder if it is better to put in a 195° thermostat? The engine runs in that range normally but would that give the coolant in the radiator more time to be cooled by the fans? I feel the 180° highflow opens too soon? Or am I chasing a non issue? I did notice the temp gets hotter when sitting and idle with the AC on, that seems to be a normal "issue" I read about a lot but I'm not 100% ok with it.

Where I am, you don't drive the car anymore, you sit in it waiting.

View attachment 608060
The way I'm reading this is you would like it to run cooler.

Putting a higher temp thermostat isn't going to do that. What the t-stat does is hold the coolant back from flowing until the engine heats up enough to open the t-stat and let the coolant flow. With the 195, the engine temp now has to be 195 degrees before it fully opens.

The highest temperature your engine runs isn't real dependent on the thermostat... And if anything, you are going the opposite way you want with a higher degree t-stat. As you are saying, with the 180 t-stat in place, you are getting good temperatures, so leave it alone.
 
When you are running your A/C you are pulling heat from the condenser thus bumping up your engine temp, especially while idling in stop and go traffic, which is more the norm these days in metro areas. 200 degrees is really not that bad in traffic, on the open road it's probably closer to 190 or 185. Newer cars run about 200-210 degrees because it burns fuel more efficiently. Sorry to hear your bad back prevents you from enjoying your ride. That is a good looking formal roof Fury III.
 
They make thermostats in 3 heat ranges -- 160 , 180, and 195.... I don't even carry the 195 --- nobody wants it....
I sell the 160s and 180s about equally....

Years ago, when I unearthed a slew of Original MOPAR in the MOPAR Boxes Thermostats --- I easily sold
All 300 or so 160s, and All 250 or so 180s....Luckily , I only had about 100 -- 195s, and I sold --- maybe 10 ---
And, the rest of them I gave out FREE , when people bought a decent size order, just because of the glorious
BOX !!!

If that helps , or gives you an indication.....
 
Get rid of the high flow thermostat and use a standard 180* thermostat.
 
What else were you gonna do ?
About what?
Thermostat?
Arthritis? VA says, no cure, just slowly gets worse
Getting old? Also, no cure.
Rec: Live in the moment and enjoy the moment as best we can.

I made my original remark in sarcasm and frustration with a medical system that doesn't help.
Jim Morrison: No one here get's out alive
 
About what?
Thermostat?
Arthritis? VA says, no cure, just slowly gets worse
Getting old? Also, no cure.
Rec: Live in the moment and enjoy the moment as best we can.

I made my original remark in sarcasm and frustration with a medical system that doesn't help.
Jim Morrison: No one here get's out alive
You said " we ****** up and got old" . My retort to you was " What else were you gonna do". Really only two options.
 
We were always taught that a thermostat "starts" to open at a set temperature .
So a 180* thermostat may not be fully open till 185-190*.
Old school auto shop days.
 
Drop it in a pot of water and turn on the flame. Watch it open. It doesn't take long, a couple seconds. If it's a 165 it should open at 165.
 
We were always taught that a thermostat "starts" to open at a set temperature .
So a 180* thermostat may not be fully open till 185-190*.
Old school auto shop days.
You know... I have heard it both ways. It's open all the way at XX degrees or it starts to open at XX degrees. I've never found a good reference that says one way or the other. Now I have to look some more.


Of course, if I had said "it has to be 195 before it starts to open", somebody would have said "You mean it's open fully at 195".
 
Check what the factory service manual says.
I don't have my C-body FSM close by but this is in a 1957 FSM manual specifications section:
Thermostat
Starts to open at 157 to 162*
Fully open at 190* F.

I would consider that a 160* F thermostat.
 
Well... Im only 37 and have triggered traumatic arthritis in my back and torn a disk from a slip and fall due to someones negligence, my doctor misdiagnosed and now its chronic. No lawyer wants to take me so..... and its correct, there is no cure, only pain management. I already had tons of injections, the pain was so bad i was convulsing in bed and couldn't sleep. Horrendous!!!!
 
Well... Im only 37 and have triggered traumatic arthritis in my back and torn a disk from a slip and fall due to someones negligence, my doctor misdiagnosed and now its chronic. No lawyer wants to take me so..... and its correct, there is no cure, only pain management. I already had tons of injections, the pain was so bad i was convulsing in bed and couldn't sleep. Horrendous!!!!
I am truly sorry to hear of your situation, esp at your age.
 
had no problem running hot till i put a 180 high flow thermostat in. put a 180 standard flow thermostat back in and ran normal temp again. if coolant flows too fast in the radiator, it can't remove the heat
 
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