160 or 180 thermostate

[Cratos]

braking in the car and working out the bugs. Motor, trans & rear end have about 80 miles on them.

383 six-pack with six-pack cam, 727, 355's160 thermostat

temp comes up fine but after driving a15 20 min and then getting in traffic with lights the temp comes up toward H then after a few min of driving comes back down.

Thinking I may want to bump it up to a 180Deg

rad was cleaned and checked before I put it in. New hv water pump. Clutch fan seems to be working. so do you think the 180 will help it run cooler ?

 

[tonysrt]

I know when I rebuilt two 440's they would heat up like crazy when they were new. I see your in Sunny Florida so mother nature tries to keep you warm. I would try driving on the highway to accumulate some miles and maybe not so much stop and go around town. I have a hemi and I have a 180 in her.

 

[Cratos]

yea looking back I am not sure why I did the 160 it is a factory air car

 

[DetMatt1]

Definitely a 180 will keep the coolant in the radiator for longer cycles giving you more consistency and lower temps.

 

[Huskidrive]

You mentioned everything except a shroud. My car would not stay within reason without it. 383 4 speed.

 

[Dodgeboy]

I had a hard time keeping mine under 200° in traffic. I tried 160°, 180°, and ended up with 170° themostate. Alum rad, clutch fan, fan shroud, elec pusher fan, and blocked off the top of grill to the rad support (aftermarket hood). Now it stays under 190° .

 

[Chryco Psycho]

160 is too cold for the engine to run efficiently , I always run a 180 this keeps it on the cooler side but hot enough to run efficiently

 

[dolphin3111]

A thermostat does not affect the final equilibrium engine operating temperature unless it is stuck; in which case the engine will overheat. A thermostat's only function is to get the engine up into it's normal range quickly and then open up to allow the engine temperature to seek out on it's own stable operating temperature. In VERY cold environments the thermostat may cycle somewhat to maintain engine operating temperature.

If you are schooled in circulating system heat transfer and heat exchanger design, you know that keeping the water in the radiator for a longer period or slowing the water flow rate down does not help the engine to stay cool. Just the oppoeite.... more flow -> more heat transfer -> lower final operating temperature.

 

[Dodgeboy]

The coolent, oil, and exhaust all work together to cool the engine. I ran a engine oil cooler for 2 summers when my engine would hover @ 200°-220°. Made a huge difference, personally I am just not a fan of the oil travelling a extra 10ft. But theres a reason the factory used 6 & 8 fin water pumps & different w/p too crank pully ratios. Slightly slowing down the flow thru the rad can help. The coolant needs to see a temp drop. Slightly increasing flow can help too. You need to figure out what/where the issue is. My issue was not enough airflow thru the rad at low speed.

 

[Cratos]

yes the shroud is there and in good shape. motor has about 80 miles on it short runs (10-15 miles)to check for leaks and adjustments.

 

[Robert Franke]

braking in the car and working out the bugs. Motor, trans & rear end have about 80 miles on them.

383 six-pack with six-pack cam, 727, 355's160 thermostat

temp comes up fine but after driving a15 20 min and then getting in traffic with lights the temp comes up toward H then after a few min of driving comes back down.

Thinking I may want to bump it up to a 180Deg

rad was cleaned and checked before I put it in. New hv water pump. Clutch fan seems to be working. so do you think the 180 will help it run cooler ?

Sounds like an airflow problem..I would suspect fan clutch..have had many aftermarket clutch headaches doing A/C work.

 

[Cratos]

anyway to check the fan clutch?

 

[Robert Franke]

Well they say this is not they way to check
But, what I do is fold up a shop rag with the engine idling at temp. Carefully put the rag into the edges of the fan...buzz
See if the blades try to chew th rag or you can slow it down..if you can..junk
Also if your car has a condenser check to make sure it's not blocked with debris

 

[Robert Franke]

You might consider going to straight drive fan...I'm working on a 440 a/c car right now that has a non clutch fan asm. Not a factory expert but looks factory to me. Good luck bro!

 

[Mickie Lulu]

205 is not hot, that's about normal
260 is hot
today's fuel is designed to burn at a min of 195 degrees engine operating temperature
All engines require 15 degrees of timing BTDC, about 34-36 total and 195 degree thermostat
It's 2020 not 1970

 

[Robert Franke]

Totally agree with mickie! Assuming correct coolant mix on closed system.