It's been a long time since I've had to remember if the temp spec for a
thermostat is the opening temp, or the fully open temp. The below quote is from
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system8.htm
The thermostat's main job is to allow the engine to heat up quickly, and then
to keep the engine at a constant temperature. It does this by regulating the
amount of water that goes through the radiator. At low temperatures, the outlet
to the radiator is completely blocked -- all of the coolant is recirculated
back through the engine.
Once the temperature of the coolant rises to between 180 and 195 F (82 - 91 C),
the thermostat starts to open, allowing fluid to flow through the radiator. By
the time the coolant reaches 200 to 218 F (93 - 103 C), the thermostat is open
all the way.
As it mentions, 210 degrees is not "hot". It's normal operating for most cars.
I also was driving a new Grand Am last week and noticed the temp gauge
stabilized at 208 degrees.
Also water boils at about 2 degrees hotter for every pound of pressure it has
on it, so a 16 lb cap raises the BP to around 242 degrees. On top of that, the
coolant raises the BP a couple degrees too.
Seth
#1544
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
On 8/1/2004 at 10:37 PM Maycinc@cs.com wrote:
>I'm still fighting overheating problems with my '75. My car has < 1000
>miles
>since I finished restoring. It has a 4 row radiator, flowcooler water
>pump,
>electric pusher fan, and Tanner's compound scoop. Everything is new
>except
>the engine which I took out of another car with 53k miles on it. On a
>recent
>drive on a 90 degree day the temp gauge got to about 210. When I shut it
>off,
>it continued to run for a minute (dieseling).
>
>I used an infrared thermometer and measured 195 at the top of the
>radiator,
>165 at the bottom, and 230 on the top of the intake manifold. I'm
>thinking
>that the engine might be plugged up based on the large temp difference
>between
>the top and bottom. So I'm thinking of flushing the block. Which is
>better,
>to get on of the flush kits and do it myself or take it somewhere and have
>it
>"power" flushed?
|