Donohue96M6Z28

my car was getting hot, so i put in a new thermostat hoping for a cheap quick fix, my car has been cooler, but just out of curiousity, i put the old thermostat in boiling water to see if it would open or not, and it stayed shut, does that mean that my thermostat was bad? or is that not an accurate way of testing? thanks

trans9_5am

Unless you had a thermostat that was a higher temp than boiling water, yes it means it was bad Or atleast i think you can do it this way

Brandon

shoebox

The thermostat should have opened long before the water was boiling.

00ls1

yup bad stat for sure

Injuneer

What is the elevation where you boiled the water? That will affect the temperature of the water. Higher the altitude, the lower the boiling point.

trans9_5am

Very true. What thermostat were you running and what elevation are you at? For instance an elevation of 3000 ft would put the boiling point at around 206 F while an elevation of 14000 would drop it to 186 F. If you had a higher thermostat and live a little ways above sea level, the test would be inaccurate for your situation.

Brandon

Injuneer

The other thing to keep in mind... the rated temp of a t'stat is the temperature at which it BEGINS to open. Typically, it will not be fully open until the temperature reaches about 20*F above the rated temperature.

GetaZforgetGT

I was bored so I did some searching.

The Highest point in Texas is Guadalupe Peak at 8,749 feet.
Current barometric pressure in texas...is 29.9 give or take.

At that altitude water would boil at approx. 196 degs

I feel it is safe to assume that his car is not parked at the top of the peak
so we can say the his boiling point would carry a temp slightly higher than that.

Conclusion:
Busted thermostat

Man I love Google

TUNDRKYS

How do you know this stuff??

trans9_5am

Brandon

QuickSilver02

I did the water test with my stocker and a 160 hypertech t-stat. The hypertech opened a lot sooner than the stock one, so the test you did is a good way to evaluate for a broken t-stat.

Donohue96M6Z28

dude! i live on top of guadalupe peak!!
thanks for looking that up for me, you must have been VERY bored

thanks guys for the responses, made me feel a little bitter about it, by the way, my car hasnt been getting nearly as hot as it did that day
thanks again

Bayer-Z28

Gasoline engine's operating temprature is 210*. Water boils at 210*. When fluid is pressurised it raises the boiling point. If your T-stat is rated at 180*, according to what INJUNEER said above, then your stat will not be fully opened until about 200*...It starts opening at 180*, allowing coolant to flow.....Add in the whole altitude thing and..........ok, I'm getting a headache......

I, personally, get nervous letting my car get that hot. Bad experiences w/ POS car in the past.

Injuneer

Kind of stuff you learn in HS science, if not earlier.....