Running no thermostat (constantly flowing coolant). What can that do?

Michael Yount

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Apr 10, 2002

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#41

• Nov 28, 2005

• #41

Drew - put a t'stat in the car, what are you thinkin'?

 

Michael Yount

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#42

• Nov 28, 2005

• #42

David - for the short time you're contemplating, I don't think it will hurt anything - pull it or drill it - for a couple of weeks you'll be fine.

 

HISSIN50

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

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#43

• Nov 28, 2005

• #43

You know Michael, I have always kinda wondered how the folks who run no t-stat know where to set the fan switch thresholds. I suppose you just pick a temp and hope for the best.

 

Michael Yount

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#44

• Nov 28, 2005

• #44

Set the fan temp where you want it -- and just know that under cruise -- if the radiator is up to the task -- you're gonna be way under that threshold.

My daughter's Corolla had a t'stat that failed open one time. The car wouldn't get warm enough to provide much heat in the winter, and it wouldn't shift into OD (auto) -- because the computer thought the car was in 'cold run' mode all the time. I picked up 4 mpg around town when I put a properly operating t'stat in it.

 

D

D347643

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#45

• Nov 28, 2005

• #45

yeah i need to put a thermostat in there for sure but ya know my dccontroller actually does what its suppose to. 194 all the time.

 

sunil6784

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#46

• Nov 28, 2005

• #46

not to thread hijack, but i just changed the thermostat on my 94 explorer because the gauge would stay on Cold. Found out that whoever put it in last time put it in backwards...what would this do?

 

C

Camman

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#47

• Nov 28, 2005

• #47

HISSIN50 said:

Camman, more than one guy on here has found the lower-radiator-hose spring wedged inside their water pump. That tells me there is some dynamic going on for some folks. If a spring can be moved like that, I would imagine the hose could collapse were that spring not there......

David has a nice combo and likes to get on it occasionally, hence the suggestion.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I was not trying to say it was a bad suggestion, I was just wondering how many people have actually seen this happen. I still always check the lower hose but dont find it common(this is in my VERY limited scope of things automotive). Its funny about the spring in the water pump. I, as I am sure you do, have to change my hoses almost yearly due to the extreme heat.

Anyway, I was just trying to ask, not come off like the pompass a** that I did


I would think that if you dont do any highway driving you would be ok with no t-stat. Its when you driving at 80 with low ambient temps that would be a problem.

 

T

TheUser

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#48

• Nov 28, 2005

• #48

sunil6784 said:

not to thread hijack, but i just changed the thermostat on my 94 explorer because the gauge would stay on Cold. Found out that whoever put it in last time put it in backwards...what would this do?

Click to expand...

Well, you know how a thermostat works, right? It keeps the coolant from circulating through the radiator until the temp gets high enough inside the intake to heat up to the desired temperature; then it melts the wax, which releases the spring and lets the thermostat open, thus letting the coolant flow through the radiator and cool it down.

With the thermostat in backwards, it simply wouldn't do that; I would expect it to just keep the coolant in the motor, not circulate at all and, I would expect the vehicle to actually get hot, not run cold. Weird.

 

04sleeper

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#49

• Nov 28, 2005

• #49

TheUser said:

With the thermostat in backwards, it simply wouldn't do that; I would expect it to just keep the coolant in the motor, not circulate at all and, I would expect the vehicle to actually get hot, not run cold. Weird.

Click to expand...

I would have to agree. I have seen it before and this is what happened.

It happened to a good friend of mine that had one of his dads friends help him out.

 

Michael Yount

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#50

• Nov 28, 2005

• #50

Drew - if you're running no t'stat, and your operating temp UNDER CRUISE still stays at 194F -- you either have a radiator that isn't working too well, or problems with air flow across the rad at speed.

I run a 180F t'stat and have my DCC set at 187F. When in traffic (minimal airflow across the rad) my temps run 187-190F. When my road speed goes up over about 30-35mph, there is enough airflow that my fans ramp down and turn off -- and with continued airflow across the radiator drops the temps down to the t'stat temp -- 180F.

So - it makes sense to me that your operating temp at low speeds would match your DCC setting -- the DCC is designed to do just that. But with no t'stat at all in the car, I'd expect your operating temp to fall WELL below 194F when the car is up to speed for any length of time at all.

 

D

D347643

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#51

• Nov 28, 2005

• #51

well with my electric water pump doesnt the wp60 control it based on the temperature the sensor reads? Instead of turning them full on or off it moderates the pump and elec fan to run at lower levels in conjunction to maintain the desired temp? thats why when i shut my car off with the ignition still on it will run them both until temp drops below the setting i placed the jumpers at.

 

Michael Yount

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#52

• Nov 28, 2005

• #52

Variable speed Electric water pump is a whole different issue Drew -- "the REST of the story" (I should've studied your sig more carefully). The DCC varies the speed of your pump to manage temp AND FLOW control. Your situation is entirely different than the original posters.

Makes sense to me now that with elec. pump and fan you'd stay right at the set point.

Have you tried playing with the set point to see the impact on performance or fuel mileage? I'd be curious what you see running it at 180F instead of 194F...

 

HISSIN50

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

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#53

• Nov 28, 2005

• #53

Camman, I did not interpret your post as you may have felt it was received (it was fine by me).

I come up with less-likely suggestions as folks run through the obvious stuff and still have issues. Worst case is that David rolls his eyes when he reads what I post and moves on (I imagine lots of folks do that). But I dont think that it ever hurts to mention stuff.

 

D

D347643

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#54

• Nov 28, 2005

• #54

well in my defense I did post that I was using a wp60, specifically designed for elec w/p and elec fan but no big deal.

yeah the wp60 is based on 180 tstat and ive tried making it run a little cooler by placing the jumpers -14 and hotter +14. It seems to like the 194 setting the best. If I leave it at 180 It tends to run a little lower (around 177) and thats to cold. With the 194 setting it never goes below 190 or above 200 no matter how I drive it. It feels that I get the most performance out of the +14 setting but I really havent had much seat time with the other settings. what do you think?

Drew

 

Michael Yount

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#55

• Nov 28, 2005

• #55

I think your judgement after playing with it is MUCH better than anything I could tell you sitting here at the computer some 2500 miles away....

I'm familiar enough with DC's stuff that I should've picked up the 'Wp' prefix.....mea culpa.

 

D

D347643

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#56

• Nov 28, 2005

• #56

haha just givin you a hard time man

 

Look Its Aaron

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#57

• Nov 28, 2005

• #57

Michael Yount said:

I think your judgement after playing with it is MUCH better than anything I could tell you sitting here at the computer some 2500 miles away....

I'm familiar enough with DC's stuff that I should've picked up the 'Wp' prefix.....mea culpa.

Click to expand...

You are such an ahossle Michael.





hehe just kidding!

 

Michael Yount

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#58

• Nov 28, 2005

• #58

I deserved it....