And further logic would suggest that if heat is not being transferred to
the coolant, then the sender that reads the temperature of the coolant is
giving you false security. It could be that the iron/aluminum or whatever,
is indeed hotter than it would be with the coolant restricted by the
thermostat. I find that many people believe the guage sender, but it is
susceptible to eroor for the same reason the cooling ability is diminished.
Just another .02 in the kitty. Peter C
At 03:30 PM 7/29/99 , Jerry Oliver wrote:
>
>Good logic, but I question the assumption that new car engines have the
>same design cooling problems as LBC. For example, my '92 F250 had the
>radiator stick in the open position during the hottest weeks of the year
>last summer. Even towing a car trailer to Oregon, the engine would not
>come up to normal operating temperature. The thermostat in that car is
>used to warm the engine to proper temperature, as the cooling system is
>well "over designed" intentionally. I think you have to remember that in
>England, it is a rare summer day that goes into the high 80 degree F.
>These cars were conceived to operate in a temperature range of 55 to 75
>degree F. I have an MGA, with some engine modifications that tend to
>make it run even warmer than normal. The auxiliary fan I installed is
>used only on the warmest days here in Seattle area. Our weather is
>similar to the British Isles. I owned a nearly new 66 TR4A in the Los
>Angeles area in the late 1960's, and removed the thermostat with success
>to counter act those hot days in the San Fernando Valley. Boy, do I miss
>those Valley Girls. Regards to all, Jerry Oliver, Olympia WA CTC66836L
>
>Johnmowog@aol.com wrote:
>>
>> No wonder our cars always have a reputation for overheating... we can't even
>> agree on how to run a thermostat! :-)
>>
>> My 2 cents worth.... I had always heard the argument that the
restriction was
>> needed to facilitate heat transfer in the motor, with less concern about
>> radiator heat transfer. The warnings in my old shop books about thermostat
>> removal always talked of high speed flow causing hot spots in the block.
This
>> may make more sense ...
>>
>> Certainly one would think that new car makers would have found a way to get
>> rid of all restriction in the thermostat housings (make them full free-flow
>> upon opening like an oil cooler thermostat) if it were desirable to do
so, as
>> a more free-flowing and efficiant cooling system would translate to less
>> fan-belt drag and lighter weight radiators, thus saving money, mpg and hp,
>> via less drag and lighter parts... Since they spend huge amounts of time and
>> money looking for modest improvements in these areas I suspect they've
>> already considered the non-restrictive thermostat idea....
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