Thermostat is also important to the health of your transmission. The thermostat helps heat up the coolant quicker, which in turn helps get the tranny fluid up to operating temp quicker.
CK5
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Why not get rid of therostat permanently?
- Thread starter mikekwesell
- Start date
Not having one "might" make the engine never reach full operating temperature too,and the ECM will remain in "cold" mode if it doesn't reach a certain temperature,which will waste fuel and cause excess carbon build up and other undesirable things..
Maybe it is a wives tale removing the thermostat will make the engine overheat due to the too rapid coolant flow--all I know is the engines I tried running without one still overheated,but went back to "normal" after I put a good new one in and I always ran 195 degree ones year round..
Maybe it is a wives tale removing the thermostat will make the engine overheat due to the too rapid coolant flow--all I know is the engines I tried running without one still overheated,but went back to "normal" after I put a good new one in and I always ran 195 degree ones year round..
Yes I think it's so common of a myth because if you only think about half the system, it then makes sense.
However, most people don't stop and think about the other half, the engine is getting hotter and hotter while the radiator is getting cooler if you stop/slow the flow. If you slow the coolant flow some, you are only slowing the response time, it will take longer to bring the temperature back down when the same airflow is there. If you slow it too much, then you are removing the ability of the coolant to remove enough heat with it. Either can also create hot spots, this is why most engines have an internal bypass to keep some coolant flowing within the engine even when the thermostat is closed. If there is not one then you need a bypass hose like on a big block. Or just run no thermostat, if you don't have any of the reasons to use one with your ride. I run a thermostat in my truck and my daily. I don't run one in my street strip ride because I like the simplicity and constant fast flow of coolant in that engine.
If you keep the water velocity high it does not hurt, it helps, the system responds faster. It's a fluid so carrying a small amount of heat away faster does the same total heat transfer as carrying a lot of heat away slower, it's just safer for the engine to do it faster. It's like changing the hysteresis of the system.
However, most people don't stop and think about the other half, the engine is getting hotter and hotter while the radiator is getting cooler if you stop/slow the flow. If you slow the coolant flow some, you are only slowing the response time, it will take longer to bring the temperature back down when the same airflow is there. If you slow it too much, then you are removing the ability of the coolant to remove enough heat with it. Either can also create hot spots, this is why most engines have an internal bypass to keep some coolant flowing within the engine even when the thermostat is closed. If there is not one then you need a bypass hose like on a big block. Or just run no thermostat, if you don't have any of the reasons to use one with your ride. I run a thermostat in my truck and my daily. I don't run one in my street strip ride because I like the simplicity and constant fast flow of coolant in that engine.
If you keep the water velocity high it does not hurt, it helps, the system responds faster. It's a fluid so carrying a small amount of heat away faster does the same total heat transfer as carrying a lot of heat away slower, it's just safer for the engine to do it faster. It's like changing the hysteresis of the system.
I took a course in the Navy called Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow (HTFF we called it because what's the military without anacronyms). I remember that all else staying constant an increase in mass flow rate will increase the heat transfer coefficient.
True.
I usually don't like to comment on some of the myths because if I say I am an civil engineer they say you are not a mechanical engineer.
But yes all engineering branches take the same physics, chemistry and math courses, at least where I went to the university.
I ran my cars all the time without a thermostat but that was cars from 1978 and older, these days new cars don't run as good without one.
I am running my 97 Jimmy without because I took it out when I was trying to flush and remove the rust and then I got lazy and never put it back.
I had less heat in the winter but I can take it.
I do plan on putting it back on with a new water pump, it's leaking, and a new air conditioning compressor.
But for now it's just the backup truck
One of our company pickups is a 2500HD with the 6.0L and engine temp runs 210 pretty much dead on no matter what load is or outside temps. I always think about how if that was my crew cab I would feel like it's overheating because I like to run it at 180.
My 2012 freightliner is like that, it took some getting used to
I think this is two of the reasons people still think the myth is true, "it still overheated" and then they replace it with a new one. The only time most people try running without one is when they have an overheating problem and they hope it will fix it in a crutch. (if the thermostat was stuck shut it might, worth a shot) When it doesn't they flush it out and put a (sometimes new) thermostat back in and it works again so the lack of thermostat gets blamed, when most likely they fixed the problem by flushing it out and/or putting some fresh coolant/water in there to top it off from a slow leak, or replacing the thermostat with one that works consistently.
One of the side benefits of no thermostat in a street/strip ride, is those days at the track. I have an electric water pump and electric fans. I programmed the ECU so if I leave the key on when in "race mode" (there is a switch on the dash), it will leave the water pump and fans on even if the engine is not running until the temp is down to 140. It does this relatively quickly with the engine off and no thermostat. Of course if it has a thermostat in it, it could only cool down to that temp before flow to the radiator was blocked, and it would take longer because most thermostats don't allow full flow. Hot oil and cool temps give the best times, and I can cool down to a consistent temperature before the burnout and run. Fans are programmed to shut off above 50% throttle (you can never leave it at that for very long anyway, and it is usually high speed at that point very quickly(more airflow without the fans).
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That's another thing I learned about power from my thermodynamics courses, the bigger the temp gap between combustion chambers and exhaust the more efficient it is.
So if you could cool your exhaust you get more power, that is why some people will notice a drop in power with open headers, it's not the back pressure, it's the high exhaust temperature coming straight out.
If you have a free flowing exhaust long enough or made to cool the exhaust you get more power.
