160 or 180 t-stat?

[Tim Z]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(duckysbht &#064; Jan 23 2006, 08&#58;52 PM) [snapback]41998[/snapback]</div>

yeah lets all take a laugh at the funny man with the 4.3. ............... haha no im just kidding. so wait a lower number in temp like the 160 is better then a 195? so does that mean when it hits 195 degrees what happens? or how does it work?
[/b]

i wasnt dissin the 4.3, i have one now in my work truck and its my 4th one ,4.3 are great reliable engines. the one i had in my 99 zr-2 would roast the tires all day, what it means is when the eng temp is at 160 degrees the stat will open and let water flow to the radiator to cool then recirc to the engine, trying bto keep the motor at about 160degrees, a 195 stat waits till the coolant is 195 or so then opens to let the radiator cool the engine, the factory puts a high temp stat in cause a warmer motor puts out lower emissions, but higher temps hurt power, so a lower temp stat will let the computer add fuel and timing which means more power&#33; hope this helps

[ducky]

yeah i love the zr2 blazers. those things are bad. but man i knew it was just like an AC unit inside of a home. but i didnt wanna guess and be wrong. well hey thats pretty cool. got any instructions on how to do it?

[Tim Z]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(duckysbht &#064; Jan 23 2006, 09&#58;21 PM) [snapback]42006[/snapback]</div>

yeah i love the zr2 blazers. those things are bad. but man i knew it was just like an AC unit inside of a home. but i didnt wanna guess and be wrong. well hey thats pretty cool. got any instructions on how to do it?
[/b]

ins for what , A/C or t-stat?&#33; uuummmm just run your line set and braze the connections to the condensor,oops, i mean just un bolt your t-stat housing on the intake manifold,and the stat will lift out , then pop the new stat in , make sure you have a good gasket if you dont have a reuseable rubber one,and bolt the housing back, be sure to check your coolant levels. its a # 1 on a scale of 1-10 , very easy. good luck,

[ducky]

which is better though. 160 or 180? or i guess i mean. which one would be better for my truck? but hey thanks for the inst.

[Turborado]

Well it kinda depends on where you live. If it is cold out i doubt i would use a 160 because your heater won&#39;t be as warm. I just called bumper to bumper and they only show one for a 1999 silverado 5.3. they said it is a 186 degree stat and it comes with new housing. I thought stock was 195 from GM but maybe it is 186. I think i want a 160 anyway&#33;&#33; I guess i will be checking out the sites that were listed earlier in this thread. Thanks guys&#33;

[jethro_3]

My truck runs 178* when I go down the highway with my 160* therm. Just because the therm is lower does not mean the engine will get that low........

[BlenderWizard]

I switched my 160º for 180º, because my "Low Coolant" light kept coming on when it was full, and Allen said, "The engine has to warm up in a certain amount of time, if not, the pcm will set a code. Has it been cold lately? That code may be related to the engine not warming up quick enough. What thermostat do you have in the engine? It’s not hurting anything, we can remove the code, or you can install a 180stat." Being that I am a bit on the paranoid side, I went ahead and got the 180º in there.

[gearheadnate]

I found a little trick in a book you can do to modify your stock one down to 168 deg for a quarter. You need a 1/8" brass or a brass screw, file it down to .090 inch. Remove your stock t-stat. On the back side of the t-stat push down and twist with a pair of pliers to release the spring, pull all the goods out keeping them in order. Then place the spacer down in the small hole and reasemble. Every .0036 inch is 1 deg. I did mine that way. I filed a brass 1/8" screw down to .061 which 180 deg. works great.