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Posted by Sherman in Idaho [72.47.9.37] on Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 14:25:50 :
In Reply to: Regarding drilling holes in thermostats. posted by Clint Dixon [74.206.63.42] on Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 14:15:04 :
Thank you for that very detailed analysis. As a rule, I'm dubious of suggestions that there's a design flaw in any old vehicle like this. The engineers back then new that cooling was important and they knew how to make cooling systems work. I'm not saying they were gods and never had bad designs (grounding headlights through body sheetmetal is a bad design), but some guys today are too quick to redesign things without first understanding what exactly isn't working right and why it was designed the way it is.
My problem with thermostats is that if you go to an auto parts store, they'll sell you a thermostat for an old Dodge, but it looks nothing like the original brass one. It's a very standard modern thermostat, but in the box there is a thick soft rubber gasket and sometimes a stamped collar. Supposedly you can assemble this collection into an old Dodge thermostat housing and create something that seals properly when it's cold and opens properly when it's warm, but I've never been able to convince myself that the hodge-podge actually does anything at all, no matter how I put it in. Given that under ordinary circumstances, an engine will work okay with the thermostat open all the time, and/or with it partly obstructing the flow all the time, I guess this arrangement sort of works, but it defeats the whole point of the original design which was to actually control where the water goes at what temperature.
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