I'm not an engineer, but I know what I see, and after 25+ years as a
mechanic I've never seen lack of a thermostat make an engine run hot. It
always has made the engine run cold. I've heard this story about coolant
moving too fast through the rad to release heat many times, but it does not
hold up in the real world. I've also heard, and this I believe to be true,
that the thermostat is needed as a flow control orifice, to force the
coolant to circulate properly, and allow higher pressure in the engine, by
restricting water pump flow, to prevent localized boiling in hot areas of
the engine. The claim I've heard from people that are supposed to be
smarter than me (most everyone?) is that pressure can reach 50 psi in some
areas of the engine, but only with the stat in place. In reality, I don't
think this matters until you are approaching overheat temps, that most
people won't see if the stat is removed, except of course in Tigers.
Doug Leithauser
> > >With no thermostat your engine should of actually been colder because
> of
> > >the full flow of water circulating.
> > (snip)
> > Actually, that's not true. The water circulates too quickly which
> doesn't
> > allow for enough dwell time for heat transfer. If the hot surfaces
> aren't
> > in contact with the water long enough to transfer heat, then the engine
> > will overheat.
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