can i run car without thermostat?

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rudeone707

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May 17, 2003

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Fairfield, Ca

Jul 25, 2005

#1

• Jul 25, 2005

• #1

my car has had a cooling issue for the last couple of days and i think it might be the tstat. if i take it out tomorrow and its broken, can i run the car without a couple day without until i get another 180*.

 

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wytstang

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Mar 14, 2004

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Summerville,SC missing South Fl. weather :(

Jul 25, 2005

#2

• Jul 25, 2005

• #2

Yes it will just recirculate the hot h2o constantly.

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

15 Year Member

Nov 29, 1999

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Jul 25, 2005

#3

• Jul 25, 2005

• #3

I would not run w/o a stat. It can lead to a prolonged run to reach operating temps and then overheating once temps start to creep up.

But for a couple days, you could try it.

You gotta do what you gotta do.

Good luck.

 

Xterminator03

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Sep 23, 2004

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NEW YORK

Jul 25, 2005

#4

• Jul 25, 2005

• #4

I ran my car with a borken stat in it it just ran very cold the temperature never when past 130 degree

 

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rudeone707

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May 17, 2003

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Jul 25, 2005

#5

• Jul 25, 2005

• #5

so pretty much i would have a worse overheating problem than i do now if i ran without one.

 

HGFireHazard

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Apr 10, 2005

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Jul 25, 2005

#6

• Jul 25, 2005

• #6

It's possible, but it would take longer to get there due to the fact that coolant would be flowing through the water jackets right away.

 

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wytstang

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Mar 14, 2004

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Summerville,SC missing South Fl. weather :(

Jul 25, 2005

#7

• Jul 25, 2005

• #7

rudeone707 said:

so pretty much i would have a worse overheating problem than i do now if i ran without one.

Click to expand...

With the heat wave that has had the US sweating it's butt off I would say yes. If you don't drive the car for long periods of time you could get away with it. Just remember once the h2o gets hot it will only get hotter, the fan has no way of cooling water that doesn't sit still. .02

 

a50sn95

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Oct 12, 2001

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Elk Grove, CA

Jul 25, 2005

#8

• Jul 25, 2005

• #8

I would say no. One of the things a thermostat does is slow down the flow. Your coolant NEEDS to stay in the radiator long enough to transfer some heat, and needs to stay in the engine long enought to absorb some heat. No thermostat allows unimpeded flow, and can actually cause a car to overheat.
Look on Summit and JEG's, and you'll see flow restrictors for people running no thermostat....Moroso P/N...MOR-63440

 

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sKyZ

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Apr 28, 2005

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Scranton PA

Jul 26, 2005

#9

• Jul 26, 2005

• #9

ever since the mustang was made/invented it has had problems with overheating, my mom had a 70 mustang.. and the engine overheated [at 244,000 miles may i add ] and it blew up. I suggest you wait for a new tstat cuz' they're only like 20 bucks and easy to install. Plus, with the computers our cars have [especially the 94-95] they don't have the best computers and ya never wanna **** that unit up.

 

94-302-vert

Active Member

Aug 16, 2004

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Jul 26, 2005

#10

• Jul 26, 2005

• #10

I wouldn't do it. If you run your car not at temp then all of you bearing clearances will be slightly off, your oil will run thicker, etc...

I don't think it is worth it. If you have to do it jsut to go get one and then drive home to install it that is all I would reccomend.

 

FORCED2DV8

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Jun 6, 2005

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Grand Rapids MI

Jul 26, 2005

#11

• Jul 26, 2005

• #11

Cut the center of your thermostat out with a pair of tin snips, put the ring back in.
This will work just fine until you get another one, If it still is over heating you may want to look at water pump or fans.

 

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titaniumsc03

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Jun 6, 2005

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ohio

Jul 26, 2005

#12

• Jul 26, 2005

• #12

FORCED2DV8 said:

Cut the center of your thermostat out with a pair of tin snips, put the ring back in.
This will work just fine until you get another one, If it still is over heating you may want to look at water pump or fans.

Click to expand...

what he said, ive been running my built camaro like that for a while, it actually runs cooler without one(2 1" core aluminum rad), although its not my daily driver, i run a 180* in the stang, for a cheap thing like a tstat theres no reason not to.
Russell

 

1slow95

Founding Member

May 16, 2002

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ohio

Jul 26, 2005

#13

• Jul 26, 2005

• #13

Im running a 160* t-stat in mine, could the be causing it to overheat? It's fine while driving on the highway, but if it sits for a while the temps will start to creep up, even with the fan on high.

 

final5-0

Mustang Master

Apr 6, 2003

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DFW Texas

Jul 26, 2005

#14

• Jul 26, 2005

• #14

Low-5.0 said:

Im running a 160* t-stat in mine, could the be causing it to overheat? It's fine while driving on the highway, but if it sits for a while the temps will start to creep up, even with the fan on high.

Click to expand...

I would say no.

If it is really hot outside, a 160 just opens sooner than a 180 and when you get to a normal operation under those hot conditions either one of the two is gonna be wide open anyway.

I agree with the others about even though the stat is is wide open, it is offering some restriction to the coolant flow.

Later
Grady