160 or 180 degree thermostat

[Rick Parker]

So if an engine runs "COLD" how do you get the temp up short of blocking the radiator?
I may have TOO much radiator, that's a good thing.

[Mulv]

Originally Posted by Rick Parker

So if an engine runs "COLD" how do you get the temp up short of blocking the radiator?
.

Drive faster...

To the man from PA: If it is 120 degrees outside and you are attempting to drop 10,000 BTUs from your engine, do you suspect that it would be the same transfer of heat over time as at 60 degrees below zero? It is hot here and engines run a lot hotter because the radiator is not as efficient at higher ambient temperatures then it is at the moderate coastal climate to which you are accustomed. You may recall that in the old days there were winter and summer thermostats . Why? So you would have heat in winter in your car and so that it would not fire off its radiator cap in summer... I have nothing more to say on the topic, this is simple physics. If you want to debate this any further, please start a thread and I will happily chime in. If you don't live in a climate like this, it is hard for you to see the challenges. Anyone in Central Australia, the Middle East or North Africa can join that thread as well and we can discuss it with you..

Skully: if your expansion tank is full when the engine is cold, you have too much coolant in the system You need to empty that baby down to where when the engine is hot that it is 3/4 full. That will allow for more than hot if you go to the track or drive really hard. Otherwise as the water expands , it will have to go somewhere. If it has boiled before the radiator cap can be wrecked and not release at the psi on the label. This will cause the pressure to find the next weakest link which with luck is a hose connection and without luck is the head gasket.

[Rick Parker]

Mulv: You mean lower manifold vacuum