Quoting Mark McDonald <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
.
>
> But this is what confuses me. If the thermostat isn't opening all the
> way, wouldn't that make for a hotter engine, not a cooler one?
>
Mark, I am confused too. I just replaced my Lebaron's thermostat, because it
appeared that it was not fully closing after the first warm up and shut down.
So, if I drove the car right after I turned it off, it was running cold. In
fact, I tested it the thermostat. I put it in a little pan with water, and
when the water came close to a boil, it opened. When I gradually mixed cold
water with the hot, I noticed it refused to close, even though another old 180
thermostat I had did close. So, I installed a 195 thermostat. You would think
that the car would run a bit warmer now. Instead, it now takes longer to warm
up. I had actually tested the 195 thermostat before installation. The car
reaches operating temperature only if you hit the highway. My 68 Sedan is the
same (180 thermostat, and a mechanical temperature gage). Even in warm days,
it will refuse to exceed 160 unless you hit the highway. On a hot day at
speed, it will climd to 200 or 210. It was even hotter before I had the
radiator rodded out.
Go figure...
D^2, that is a mechanical engineer, and supposed to understand those "simple"
things
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