OK, I know I have had a million questions but this one defies logic and I don't get it, here is this deal: our car is running a 190 degree thermostat and it has been doing it's job along with the electric fan it run's at 190-195 consistent unless we hammer on it hard for a good run then it will climb to 200-205 but will come back down when we back out of it, well I picked his car up while ago to do some work on it and the temp gauge is showing 160, well I thought it's a cooler day today and I haven't got it warmed up so I run it a few miles and it never goes above 160 so I jump into it hard, still 160. So I'm thinking ok bad gauge or something so I take it straight home grab a IR meter and point it directly onto the intake right next to where the water probe inserts into the intake and I'll be dang, reads 157, I point it directly onto the aluminum head and reads 172, radiator read 148. I start the car and run it for 10 mins and take a reading and dang right at 160 on the intake be the probe, now last night I added about 1 quart of anti-freeze to what was straight water we had been running but I know that can't be it, does anybody know what in the heck can be causing it to run so cool?
Mine runs consistently at 160 with small fluctuations. I have 160 degree thermostat. My guess is if all of your cooling system parts are new that's just the sweet spot temp wise for that motor. Maybe someone will school me and tell me I'm wrong lol, but when its even slightly cool out mine never goes above 160.
Yeah but it has NEVER run that cool, I mean the temp outside today was in the lower 80's but I can't see it this cool, we have had the car running for a month and he has been driving it daily, I ask him if he watched his temp today because I drilled him ALWAYS monitor that temp and oil pressure and what to do if either were out of line, he said "yeah I noticed it was about 160 but I just thought maybe because it was a cool day"
Not really sure, but I also have a friend that has a lot of fords. Trucks, cars, wagons. They all run around 160 for him...
My guess would be the same as Larry. Stuck thermostat. Try putting a new one in and see if it changes anything.
yep a stuck thermostat is all that i can think of that will cause that tpye of change. their is lots of theory out their on what tstat temp to run. the old school way is as cold as possible. modern efi motor run at around 215. this is mostly for emission reasons. from what i understand is 160 is too cold. the metal expansion on the motor is not enough yet. i usually use a 180 t stat in my builds. you will get suggestions all over the place on what to run and its tough to figure what is best.
Yea, the whole thermostat debate can get heated! Lol. I always run a 180. Some like to not run one, some run a restrictor, and so on and so on.
And as for what temp to run I know that this motor runs best at 180 and above, at 160 it is not ready but get to 190 and all the diff in the world, however I did go back with a 180 instead of a 190 this round..........
Its so strange how the same motor runs different on different cars. Mine runs amazing at 160. Get above 190 and its a slug....
engines run the best around 190 up to very low 200s. any below that and the engine will wear faster, less fuel efficient, robs a little power... people are often scared when it hits the 200 mark. when in fact your engine thrives up to maybe 210. after 210 you don't gain efficiency and you risk breaking things. so with that said the factory 190 thermostat is perfect. also to add to that i learned that oreilly or auto zone thermostats don't hold up too great. i blew through my last one in less than a month
