Running w.o. a thermostat
 

As is my car gets pretty hot, pretty quickly... and to make matters worse I think my thermostat is starting to stick ----- will run at around 160* most of the time but once in awhile, like today, the temp will just keep going up and up.

What I'd like to do is just to run w.o. a thermostat - to do this, will I need a blanking sleeve? Or would I be able to just pull the thermostat out, get another gasket and put the housing back on?

Running without a thermostat is not usually a good idea.

Why don't you just go buy another one? They are under $5.....

- Justin

+1. Myers should have low temp stats on the shelf, Advance might too.

If you still have the issue after that, you have other issues (radiator, cooling fans, etc)

I bought my 160 t-stat off the shelf at the Advanced on North Olden....I believe it was $3.95

- Justin

why would it be a bad idea? You're just running a stead flow of coolant through the block?

I'll probably end up calling the advanced that i work at on Nottingham and see what they have on hand.

$3.95 for a t-stat; that doesn't seem right. What kind did you get cause at advanced there is the economy stant t-stat, normal stant t-stat, and the super stant t-stat...

Mine was just a normal Stant T-stat i think - nothing fancy. I could be wrong on the price, I bought it 2 years ago.

- Justin

Running without a thermostat will keep your engine too cool and it will run like crap (picture how it feels when you first start driving in the winter if you don't let it warm up). Get a 160 and if you are still having problems there is something else wrong.

Interesting. I had always thought that the thermostat was necessary to slow down the flow of coolant in the system so it could radiate properly out the radiator. Without one the coolant goes back to the engine before it gets a chance to cool down as much, so the engine will actually run hotter than it would with a low temp thermo.

this is correct. too much flow wont allow enough time for the coolant to cool off inside the radiator, so that steady flow will slowly but surely keep getting hotter and hotter til it overheats anyway

ah - I see ... well i just went to advanced and got a 160* thermo and gasket so hopefully this should fix the issue. I couldn't see it being anything... when it runs right it runs at a constant 170*, no more no less. The only think I can think of is that the thermo is sticky. Will post later with results.

--Edit

Justin - when I went, the thermos started around $5.xx ... I got the super stat which was about $9.xx ...... before my discount :)

Really? I ran without a stat once and my car never warmed up all the way. It was in the winter though. Either way it won't work right without one

I think you are all right. Bottom line - run one.

it will also use more fuel -- heat = efficiency = proper fuel mileage -- correct enging temps also have a play in burning off the water that collects inside the motor not enough heat oil turns to sludge -- you get it -- jz

Dont forget to flush your system out, cause whats the point of putting a new thermo in if theres alot of crap flowing around in your system, and could potentially clog your thermo up. Not only that it would kill two bird with one stone incase its your radiator or something thats not getting proper flow. And if you wanna go the whole 9 yards like i always do, replace your water pump as well.