OK to remove thermostat?

J wrote:
> Will it harm anything if I remove the therrmostat for the duration of the
> summer?
>
> My goal is to make the engine run cooler to extend the engine life. This is
> in reference to a 1994 Chevrolet Corsica with a 6 cylinder engine with
> 168,000 miles. The gasket is an o-ring that is part of the thermostat, so I
> will make my own gasket to fit around the thermostat housing to prevent
> leakage. Thank you.
>
>

The engine is designed to run at a specific temperature to
achieve the most efficient operation. No thermostat may
make it run too cool and you'll be using a lot more gas,
which in itself is not good for the engine. Although there
are cases where no thermostat will allow the coolant to run
thru the radiator too fast and NOT get cooled sufficiently..
The best thing you can do to extend the engine life is
change the oil/filter every 3K or so

"BobJ" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:nToWj.17694$CE1.6085@newsfe23.lga...
> Although there are cases where no thermostat will allow the coolant to
> run thru the radiator too fast and NOT get cooled sufficiently..


With all due respect, this is a myth. There are, on some designs, reasons
why
removing the thermostat may detract from cooling, but speed of flow through
the
radiator is definitely not valid.

On May 14, 9:04 am, "HLS" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "BobJ" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:nToWj.17694$CE1.6085@newsfe23.lga...
>
> >  Although there are cases where no thermostat will allow the coolant to
> > run thru the radiator too fast and NOT get cooled sufficiently..
>
> With all due respect, this is a myth.  There are, on some designs, reasons
> why
> removing the thermostat may detract from cooling, but speed of flow through
> the
> radiator is definitely not valid.

it's possibly possible if under certain conditions the turbulence from
the increased flow louses up the heat transfer by causing localized
eddy currents or some such, but pretty unlikely. the often heard
argument that 'the coolant is going too fast to pick up the heat from
the metal' demonstrates the profound failure of our school system to
teach simple principles of basic physics.

"z" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:1e2728b7-49ed-43d5-bafb-2c277b512695@m73g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
On May 14, 9:04 am, "HLS" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "BobJ" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:nToWj.17694$CE1.6085@newsfe23.lga...
>
> > Although there are cases where no thermostat will allow the coolant to
> > run thru the radiator too fast and NOT get cooled sufficiently..
>
> With all due respect, this is a myth. There are, on some designs, reasons
> why
> removing the thermostat may detract from cooling, but speed of flow
> through
> the
> radiator is definitely not valid.

it's possibly possible if under certain conditions the turbulence from
the increased flow louses up the heat transfer by causing localized
eddy currents or some such, but pretty unlikely. the often heard
argument that 'the coolant is going too fast to pick up the heat from
the metal' demonstrates the profound failure of our school system to
teach simple principles of basic physics.

Yes, it is...
Turbulence can increase the heat transfer, while laminar flows can increase
the
coolant throughput. Both effects are somewhat offsetting.

But the basic premise that fluid passes through the heat exchanger too
quickly to
allow cooling is absolutely bullshit..

Will run cooler, gas mileage will might/might not drop a few mpg's and
it won't have any heat, but thats all.

I'm not sure what fuel delivery system this car uses, but many
injections systems will not enter the "warm" strategies if the temp is
too low, which may make it run open loop.

The gas mileage will drop, quite a bit, meaning like about 1/3 if you
do that.

J <[email protected]> wrote:
>Will it harm anything if I remove the therrmostat for the duration of the
>summer?

No, but it won't do you any good.

>My goal is to make the engine run cooler to extend the engine life. This is
>in reference to a 1994 Chevrolet Corsica with a 6 cylinder engine with
>168,000 miles. The gasket is an o-ring that is part of the thermostat, so I
>will make my own gasket to fit around the thermostat housing to prevent
>leakage. Thank you.

The engine will run cooler only when it starts up, when you want it to
heat up. It won't run any cooler during long hot drives, when the thermostat
would be open anyway.

This will not extend your engine's life, it will only reduce your gas
mileage because it will take longer for the engine to come up to temperature.

If the engine is running hot, find out what is causing it to run hot and fix
it. If the engine is running hot, taking the thermostat out will not cause
it to run any cooler.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On May 13, 8:26 pm, [email protected] (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> J <[email protected]> wrote:
> >Will it harm anything if I remove the therrmostat for the duration of the
> >summer?
>
> No, but it won't do you any good.
>
> >My goal is to make the engine run cooler to extend the engine life. This is
> >in reference to a 1994 Chevrolet Corsica with a 6 cylinder engine with
> >168,000 miles. The gasket is an o-ring that is part of the thermostat, so I
> >will make my own gasket to fit around the thermostat housing to prevent
> >leakage. Thank you.
>
> The engine will run cooler only when it starts up, when you want it to
> heat up. It won't run any cooler during long hot drives, when the thermostat
> would be open anyway.
>
> This will not extend your engine's life, it will only reduce your gas
> mileage because it will take longer for the engine to come up to temperature.
>
> If the engine is running hot, find out what is causing it to run hot and fix
> it. If the engine is running hot, taking the thermostat out will not cause
> it to run any cooler.
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Modern thermostats are not bistable like the old ones. It is not just
full open or full closed. Modern cooling systems do a good job of
holding engine temp at a specific value. However, I agree with the
idea of fixing any overheating problem properly. If there is not an
overheating problem, don't monkey with it.

>
> Modern thermostats are not bistable like the old ones. It is not just
> full open or full closed. Modern cooling systems do a good job of
> holding engine temp at a specific value. However, I agree with the
> idea of fixing any overheating problem properly. If there is not an
> overheating problem, don't monkey with it.
>

Just how far back do you have to go to find a bistable thermostat,
anyway? My oldest vehicle is a 1949 Plymouth with a 217 cid flathead
six, and it has a continuously-regulating thermostat that holds the
coolant right at 160 degrees F. Just like a modern system, except about
40 degrees cooler. And I know that Chrysler, at least, was using that
system right from the start of the short-skirt six family of engines in
the early 1930s, and probably back with the ZSB sixes in use at the
start of the Chrysler Corporation in the 20s, for that matter.

On Tue, 13 May 2008 17:32:29 -0500, "J"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Will it harm anything if I remove the therrmostat for the duration of the
>summer?
>
Bad idea.

The engine should be running at design temp. If you run cool the
computer can over richen the mixture which will hurt your gas mileage.
You can run in to other problems like oil contamination if it doesn't
get hot enough to burn off the excess fuel.

Steve B.

On May 13, 6:32 pm, "J" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Will it harm anything if I remove the therrmostat for the duration of the
> summer?

Yes.

>
> My goal is to make the engine run cooler to extend the engine life.

What you are proposing will likely shorten the life of the engine
because it will never reach proper operating temperature.

> This is
> in reference to a 1994 Chevrolet Corsica with a 6 cylinder engine with
> 168,000 miles. The gasket is an o-ring that is part of the thermostat, so I
> will make my own gasket to fit around the thermostat housing to prevent
> leakage. Thank you.

Is this a solution to an overheating problem? If so you should fix
the cause of the problem.