thermostat installation

[teedog]

any body see a problem with installing it up against radiator inlet ? thanks , mike

[modelAtony]

I always put thermo. between water outlet neck on top of engine head and top of radiator inlet. I use the temp. probe pipe in middle of hose for mounting temp gauge unit. Have fun modelAtony tony white Lafayette, LA

[Bob C]

Isn't the radiator inlet and the engine outlet the same

Bob

[rscardina]

I think the question is to locate the thermostat closer to the engine end of the radiator hose instead of the radiator end. I have mine on the engine end of the hose and I have it held in place with a hose clamp.

[bdave_mcc]

Originally Posted by Bob C

Isn't the radiator inlet and the engine outlet the same

Bob

You are correct...reading this on my phone at work I must have missed the radiator part lol...my bad now I feel dumb

[teedog]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I am talking upper hose ,close to radiator neck. I thought the water flowed into the radiator

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by teedog

I am talking upper hose ,close to radiator neck. I thought the water flowed into the radiator

On Minerva, I just slipped it in the top of the top hose & it was invisible & worked FINE. It was the type with a sleeve spot welded on to it.
Bill W.

[katy]

I would assume that the closer to the engine the better. Mind you if the thermostat has one or more small bypass holes in it it may not matter.

[steve s]

There must be some reason modern cars have them installed on or close-to the block. However, I've had no problems with the thermostat located anywhere in the upper hose. If you don't clamp it, it will work it's way up the hose until it hits the radiator intake. Theoretically, mounting close to the block gives better temperature control in the block, rather than temperature control in the upper hose, which will require the motor to run at least a bit hotter than the stat's rated control temperature. However, if you are using the popular 160-degree stat, running a bit higher might be a good thing, especially if you're using antifreeze (higher boiling point than water).

[partridgekelley]

I have found using a thermo/housing from Vintage Precision Inc. makes this a snap. It has the thermostat inside and has predrilled holes for a temp gauge and heater hose connection. Their phone is 800-486-0021. I have these on 2 of my A's and they work perfect. I got tired of breaking the originals. Good Luck!

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by partridgekelley

I have found using a thermo/housing from Vintage Precision Inc. makes this a snap. It has the thermostat inside and has predrilled holes for a temp gauge and heater hose connection. Their phone is 800-486-0021. I have these on 2 of my A's and they work perfect. I got tired of breaking the originals. Good Luck!

Same here!

[teedog]

thank you to all, I will try the stat upper hose by radiator neck, mike

[Mitch//pa]

i need to keep my cars stock looking so the nice thermostat housing that Carl and many others use is not an option for my application. also using an external hose clamp is also not an option.
i cut an old lower hose and place the piece inside the upper which fits perfectly to stop the stat from moving upwards..
Tom also posted something similar he uses a pvc fitting to hold his in place..
both are invisible from the outside

[teedog]

I will go to home depot and see if I can get pvc pipe the same o.d. as the i.d. of the hose. thanks, mike

[Richard Lorenz]

My post is about the temperature at which a thermostat opens. I have a temperature gauge with mine and it seems that it starts opening where it should at about 160 degrees, but is not fully open until the water temperature reaches about 190 degrees. Has anyone else notice this sort of behavior?

It is the type of thermostat that is attached to a cylindrical sleeve so that it will stay straight in the hose and can be clamped in place using a hose clamp on the outside of the hose. I am sure that I bought it from either Bratton's or Snyder's.

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by Richard Lorenz

My post is about the temperature at which a thermostat opens. I have a temperature gauge with mine and it seems that it starts opening where it should at about 160 degrees, but is not fully open until the water temperature reaches about 190 degrees. Has anyone else notice this sort of behavior?

It is the type of thermostat that is attached to a cylindrical sleeve so that it will stay straight in the hose and can be clamped in place using a hose clamp on the outside of the hose. I am sure that I bought it from either Bratton's or Snyder's.

it should open fully at 160.... how can you see it inside the hose?

[mshmodela]

I installed a 160F thermostat on the advice of Mitch and others and placed it in the upper hose with an 3rd hold drilled in it... In testing I see ~180F at the base of the neck... I figure I'm likely to lose ~20F where the 160F thermostat is installed due to cooling of the fan on the upper hose and distance from the block... So far in ~2 months my car runs better, has not overheated and is running 50/50 coolant. How well other cars might run with a set up like this is likely all depends on the wellness of their radiator... (a newbie opinion).

(see end of the video )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFqgDPzEau4

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Why complicate it? A sleeved thermostat in the upper end of the upper hose will stay put & nobody knows it's there. Water travels UP & heat travels UP, so what's the BIG DEAL? Don't worry about when the thermostat opens/closes, it'll just do what it's designed to do & it's constantly "hunting" & cycling! DON'T go drillin' HOLES in it, LEAVE IT ALONE! Would you try to RE_DESIGN an EGG or a SQUIRREL?
Bill W.

[C26Pinelake]

Originally Posted by bdave_mcc

You are correct...reading this on my phone at work I must have missed the radiator part lol...my bad now I feel dumb

Please don't ever feel dumb on this site. Everybody makes mistakes, some more than others ! Wayne

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by Richard Lorenz

My post is about the temperature at which a thermostat opens. I have a temperature gauge with mine and it seems that it starts opening where it should at about 160 degrees, but is not fully open until the water temperature reaches about 190 degrees. Has anyone else notice this sort of behavior?

It is the type of thermostat that is attached to a cylindrical sleeve so that it will stay straight in the hose and can be clamped in place using a hose clamp on the outside of the hose. I am sure that I bought it from either Bratton's or Snyder's.

Hi, Richard. Yes mine 'hunts' like that at first when the engine is cold until it 'finds' it's temperature. I am assuming it is because the thermostat is designed to be slow reacting. My temperature will usually rise to ~180°F then fall to ~150°F. It will over shoot the 'set point' a couple of cycles then settle in at 160°F. Then we're off on our adventure...

[Mitch//pa]

different areas of the cooling system ..ie.. engine block will get hotter than 160 at first before hitting the thermostat in the upper hose....
then when the stat see's 160 youll get a rush of cool water from the radiator.

[denis4x4]

I use a pot of water on the stove and a candy thermometer to determine exactly when the thermostats opens and closes. Over the years, I've found that what's marked on the box isn't always correct. I've returned several thermostats that were not as advertised.

[Henry1953]

I used the Vintage Precision adapter and couldn't be happier. Great company, very quick shipping.

[Glen in Hillman MI]

I run with stat at Radiator neck but drill two 1/8th holes for exter bypass coolant. It stops the hunting for temp.

[Richard Lorenz]

I removed my thermostat from the car and made a test which proves that everyone is correct. At 166 deg. the thermostat had moved (opened) 1/8 inch; at 173 deg it had moved 1/4 inch; at 179 deg had moved 3/8 inch, and at 186 deg it had moved 1/2 inch which was the maximum movement.

The first 1/8 inch is probably enough for cars whose engine is broken in. For my new engine I was making use of the full thermostat movement. With vigorous boiling of the pot in which the thermostat was located, the temperature reading was 213 deg. Barometric pressure was 30.1 inches, so that adds to the validity of my temperature measurements. I was using a multimeter that used a thermocouple to measure the temperature.

[steve s]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Originally Posted by Richard Lorenz

I removed my thermostat from the car and made a test which proves that everyone is correct. At 166 deg. the thermostat had moved (opened) 1/8 inch; at 173 deg it had moved 1/4 inch; at 179 deg had moved 3/8 inch, and at 186 deg it had moved 1/2 inch which was the maximum movement.

The first 1/8 inch is probably enough for cars whose engine is broken in. For my new engine I was making use of the full thermostat movement. With vigorous boiling of the pot in which the thermostat was located, the temperature reading was 213 deg. Barometric pressure was 30.1 inches, so that adds to the validity of my temperature measurements. I was using a multimeter that used a thermocouple to measure the temperature.

Richard,

Two questions:

Did you pause the heating process a bit at each of the test temperatures, to be sure that the stat had time to equilibrate?

That's a 160-degree stat, right?

Thanks for providing data!

Steve

[Richard Lorenz]

Mine is a 600 deg thermostat. On the outside is printed "52mm" and "USA". The inside has "600" and underneath it "2200" on the copper bulb. I am confident that my heat-up rate was slow enough that the readings are good. The temperatures that I quoted could be off by a degree or two.

[mshmodela]

Originally Posted by denis4x4

I use a pot of water on the stove and a candy thermometer to determine exactly when the thermostats opens and closes. Over the years, I've found that what's marked on the box isn't always correct. I've returned several thermostats that were not as advertised.

Good advice! I did the same, she worked as mark 160F...

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by Richard Lorenz

Mine is a 600 deg thermostat. On the outside is printed "52mm" and "USA". The inside has "600" and underneath it "2200" on the copper bulb. I am confident that my heat-up rate was slow enough that the readings are good. The temperatures that I quoted could be off by a degree or two.

600 degrees?????????

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

600 degrees would cook PIZZA!
Bill W.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

600 degrees would cook PIZZA!
Bill W.

Me thinks it would cook the engine too!!!

[Brian in Wheeling]

Don't over-think it. Put it in the upper hose with a sleeve. I run a 160... All good.
Brian w.