Thermostat Housing Missing Something?

[Dean Roberts]

Just been stripping down the front of the engine and replacing some parts and renewing the timing belt and thought I would renew the gasket and replace the old thermostat.

 

Hmmmmmm.....Surely the thermostat housing should contain the thermostat???

 

Looking inside I found nothing, no retaining clip, no sealing ring, no thermostat????

Just small amounts of rusty pieces of metal, slime and brown goo.

 

Should I have a thermostat in it?

[speedtripledan]

if the previous owner hadnt sorted the cooling system then they would have removed the stat as a bodge to try and help cool the engine, suggests that you will have an inadequate cooling system put one in and see what happens it needs one ideally

Edited January 24, 2015 by DanE

[Dean Roberts]

if the previous owner hadnt sorted the cooling system then they would have removed the stat as a bodge to try and help cool the engine, suggests that you will have an inadequate cooling system put one in and see what happens it needs one ideally

 

Thanks Dan, luckily I have a new stat, but now need to get hold of the gasket, seal and circlip.

Typically, just rang round and nowhere stocks them (including eurocarparts), so looks like I'll have to continue with the rest of the work, whilst waiting on ebay delivery.

[Snapperpaul]

Ebay & Gaskets for Classics

[cb750]

Has the engine been run without antifreeze? With no anticorrosion in the water this could have rotted out some of the steel parts. I found that it was cheaper to buy a complete thermostat kit than buying the clip, seal and gasket separately.

[Andi]

When you do get a thermo, and if it runs too hot, drill a small hole in it. And there are different operating temperature ones too.

 

Andi

[Guest 2b cruising]

The thermostat is important as it is not just a means of quick warming up. It's job is also to maintain optimum running temperature. If you have a tuned engine, put the thermo out of the gt or rs motor in. These should not be any more expensive than standard as just a slightly different spring loading. HTH.

[blue]

Burton power stocks them and the fitting kits. - next day mail order

[Guest chrispine]

My car didn't have a thermostat in, after 4 years when I changed the engine I found this out, had a huge rad and the temp went up quickly with the engine ticking over in traffic, the 'stat must of been removed as a bodge to cover up the fact that the water pump was running the wrong way. A single core Pole rad now has no trouble cooling an engine with over twice the power in road use, hoping to try it on track later this year.

 

Chris

Edited January 25, 2015 by crazy chris3rd

[Guest mower man]

82 deg Cosworth stat is ideal with pintos but drilling the 3/4mm hole is imperative to aid refill and minimise air locks mick

[alanrichey]

My car didn't have a thermostat in, after 4 years when I changed the engine I found this out, had a huge rad and the temp went up quickly with the engine ticking over in traffic, the 'stat must of been removed as a bodge to cover up the fact that the water pump was running the wrong way.

Was that the original Rover 'T' engine ? If so how did you find out and fix it ? Lots of Superspec owners have similar cooling issues.

[Dean Roberts]

82 deg Cosworth stat is ideal with pintos but drilling the 3/4mm hole is imperative to aid refill and minimise air locks mick

 

I have the 82 deg stat (which looking at my invoice should have come with gasket set...grrrrr).

Just waiting on the gasket set to come thru the post, but can you elaborate on the drilling part please?

[Guest Gargoil]

Don't drill more than one hole to begin with, any more and you may end up over cooling during the winter period.

[Dean Roberts]

Cheers Guys, drill a small 3mm hole at top of thermostat before insertion, to help stop air locks and aid coolant flow.

[Guest chrispine]

Was that the original Rover 'T' engine ? If so how did you find out and fix it ? Lots of Superspec owners have similar cooling issues.

 

Mine was built to rolling chassis stage by RH with the Ford 2 ltr dohc engine, the rad was huge and instead of being mounted across the front, it was turned 90 degrees and what would of been the side of the rad was pushed forward and the rad angled at about 45 degrees to get it to fit under the bonnet. Not sure if I have any pics of it before I stripped it.

 

Chris