Thermostat ?????

zekow1 · Postby **zekow1** » 22 Jul 2010 20:50

The function of the thermostat is to retain the coolent in the engine till it gets hot enough , Then it openes to let it circulate and keep it at a proper temperature Right???

If that is so in very hot climates is it correct to asume that you can do better without one, This allowing the coolent to circulate better by not been restricted?????

Nope it's still not running

windy one · Postby **windy one** » 22 Jul 2010 21:08

No, you should always use one. The thermostat 'regulates' engine temperatures. I have had vehicles overheat without a thermostat in place. If heat/high temps are an issue, drop the opening temp to 160*.

Johnny

RadioGuy · Postby **RadioGuy** » 22 Jul 2010 21:19

No...not really. First of all most wear on a properly working engine occurs at start up before the engine reaches operating temperature; after the engine reaches temperature there is hardly any wear on the cylinder walls at all.

With out a thermostat the engine will take more time to reach temperature and thus the engine will endure more wear over the extended time it takes to warm up.

Also the coolant will not stay in the radiator as long as it would with a thermostat and therefor will not be cooled as well by the radiator.

There is a wealth of information on this subject on the web (Mr Google Knows everything) don't take my word for it.[:)]

Ken

Maintained on Saturdayâ€¦Drive on Fun-Day !!! 1976 FHC - 1980 DHC

zekow1 · Postby **zekow1** » 22 Jul 2010 21:19

Hey thanks
How do I Lower the Thermostat to 160????

[

pupinabox · Postby **pupinabox** » 22 Jul 2010 23:16

Get a new 160* thermostat.

[IMG=left]http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t194/pupinabox/353.jpg[/IMG=left][IMG=right]http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t194/pupinabox/tr7005.jpg?t=1271517043[/IMG=right]

zekow1 · Postby **zekow1** » 23 Jul 2010 00:21

A duu
i should have thought of that
I just want it to work right

[

FI Spyder · Postby **FI Spyder** » 23 Jul 2010 02:17

Not to mention without a thermostat only part of the water gets directed to the radiator and the rest goes through bypass back to the engine so your engine will actually run hotter.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

Beans · Postby **Beans** » 15 Aug 2010 20:24

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by windy one

... If heat/high temps are an issue ...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
... you have a cooling problem, that's better dealt with properly [:p]
So a thorough check/clean of your coolant system!

<center>

1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, now restored and back on the road)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)
[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]My Weblog[/url]</center>

stever_sl · Postby **stever_sl** » 15 Aug 2010 22:48

I've run many cars both ways (with and without thermostats) and this overheating just hasn't happened in any of the "no thermostat" ones. Thermodynamics wasn't my best subject, but in a closed-volume system any given molecule of water spends exactly the same amount of time in the radiator regardless of how quickly it's circulating. If it circulates twice as fast without a thermostat in the loop, then it makes twice as many visits to the radiator in a given time. It will obviously take the engine longer to get up to correct operating temperature without a thermostat to restrict the initial coolant flow but based on 35 years of tinkering with all kinds of cars, I've never had a car overheat just because there was no thermostat in the line. If anything, mine have run cooler, I suspect because there's no turbulence and local flow interference from the water having to go around and through the thermostat body. I've had overheating from bad water pumps and low coolant levels and blocked radiators blown head gaskets and even soft radiator hoses that collapsed when hot, but never from an empty thermostat housing.

- Steve Richardson
St Louis MO
76/77 TR7
80 TR8

Hasbeen · Postby **Hasbeen** » 15 Aug 2010 23:49

WARNING!

No one has mentioned that our thermostat has a foot on it.

When the thermostat opens, the foot closes off a bypass, directing the water to the radiator.

Without this foot, much of the water continually circulates through the engine, & never gets to the radiator. Our cars MUST have that thermostat, & NO OTHER for the cooling system & even the temperature gauge to work properly.

This fact renders any general discussion of cooling systems & thermostats, superfluous to the slant 4 Triumph motor.

Apart from that, I agree with Steve, The radiator transfers BTUs, [British thermal units] from the engine to the air, using the water/coolant as the medium to do this. It does not matter how long any particular molecule of coolant spends in the radiator, it is the difference in temperature between the water, & the air, & the volume of air that counts.

I also agree with Beans. If you have a 7 overheating clean out the system, particularly the radiator. With a partially blocked radiator, you will never keep the thing cool.

With everything clean & working, the 7 will not overheat no matter how hot the day, or how hard driven. A couple of years ago I had a thermostat start to open early. In full Oz summer, the gauge barely got off the stop. I had to fit a new thermostat to get the thing up to the quarter [on the gauge] it always runs at.

Hasbeen

PS. I now notice Spyder had mentioned this bypass system. How did I miss that? Don't you dare say too old Peter!

H

RadioGuy · Postby **RadioGuy** » 16 Aug 2010 00:37

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">then it makes twice as many visits to the radiator in a given time.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

That's an interesting way to look at the issue, I'm going to have to re-think this one[:)].

But I guess the main point is the thermostat is there for a reason, to keep the engine at the design operating temperature, and except for an emergency I will have one in my automobiles.

Maintained on Saturdayâ€¦Drive on Fun-Day !!! 1976 FHC - 1980 DHC

Gubi · Postby **Gubi** » 16 Aug 2010 04:57

Removing the thermostat is not a good idea in any car. The restriction to flow from an open thermostat is minimal. Your radiator is a system of tiny little tubes...that's where the flow resistance is.

The best case of running without a thermostat: the car reaches operating temperature but takes a lot longer to get there, or it runs cold all the time increasing fuel usage and wear. The worst case is in a car like the TR7 (or my Alfa 75) where without a thermostat you don't get full flow through the radiator because the thermostat incorporates a bypass blocking plate.

These cooling systems (even British ones) were designed by people who knew what they were doing. Be smart: don't fark around with it unless you're absolutely sure you're more clever than they are. I'm pretty certain I'm not.

-----
Tom
'79 TR7
'87 Alfa 75
'91 Alfa Spider

Gubi · Postby **Gubi** » 16 Aug 2010 05:05

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Gubi

RThese cooling systems (even British ones) were designed by people who knew what they were doing.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Okay, maaaaaybe not the XKE. But all other cars.

-----
Tom
'79 TR7
'87 Alfa 75
'91 Alfa Spider

Beans · Postby **Beans** » 16 Aug 2010 15:58

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Hasbeen

... WARNING! Don't you dare say too old Peter! <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Am I allowed to [:D] [:p]

<center>

1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, now restored and back on the road)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)
[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]My Weblog[/url]</center>

Hasbeen · Postby **Hasbeen** » 17 Aug 2010 00:57

OK Beans, but only because you're a Johny Foreigner, & we can't expect you to know any better.

Peter, on the other hand is a Kiwi. I believe these days there are more of them living in Oz than in Kiwi land, [the land of the long white cloud].

That being the case, we can't very well call them foreigners, they are just a bit strange.

Hasbeen

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