Is there any thing to be careful with? Is it just like changing the one in a truck. It is on a 97 Lt1.

 

Your computer must be reprogramed so the fans turn on at a lower degree. If you fail to do this your car will overheat. Installing the stat is a breeze. You can get it done in 5 minutes. No sealant required since the stat comes with its own seal.

 

try to keep as much water off the opti as possible

 

yeah maybe drain some coolant cuz it will leake some out.. maybe disconnect one of the hoses @ the bottom of the water pump, make sure you get the air outta ur cooling system tho

 

who in gods name told you this i ran mine for over a year before i had tuning done and before i had tuning done i put in a fan switch.

i have never heard of this. the only thing your stat does is open and close the water passage. if your on the highway your temp will be around 160 170. but in traffic it will get about the same as a 190 stat. it will not over heat.

 

"Your computer must be reprogramed so the fans turn on at a lower degree. If you fail to do this your car will overheat"

how will this happen? just because it's flowing water earlier (cooler) why would that cause it to overheat? if the coolant still gets up to the stock temps, even the stock thermostat would be wide open, so what difference does it make taht it opened 25* cooler?

your car won't over heat any more sitting in traffic with a 160* stat than it would w/ a 195*. as long as the fans are working you should be fine.

the reason for the reprogam is so that when sitting in traffic the operating temps are lower to give you the benefit of the lower stat.

i have a 160 and it's never caused me to overheat...and i still have stock fan temps...

 

so very true.


who ever told you this stay away from them when concerning fbodys

 

The purpose of the stat is to open up so that the seconadary fan can turn on and cool the fluid so the stat and fan temp must switch on around the same temperature. When the stat opens before the fan in on hot coolant will flow through the radiator with no cooling action. This confuses the temp sensor and may prevent the second fan from switching on. It's similar to running with no stat at all. Your car will overheat.

EDIT: I should clarify that this won't always happen but given that there's a chance I would advise against putting in a 160 without the program. Whatever the case may be why spend money on a 160 stat and then not get the added benefit of the cooling.

 

how do you get the air out of the system?

 

The stat is mechanically controlled so it will open at the designated temp. 160

The Fans are elec control so they will still turn on just fine at 195 or 210 or what ever the stock setting is.

Even on a all stock car the stat still opens at 195 and then the fans turn on at like 210 or whatever. They are not really related.

Now sometimes when you remove the stat the water flows too quickly through the radiator and it wont cool because the air flowing from crusing at speed or the the fans there is not adequate cooling time.

But the stat opening and the fans turning on are not reall connected.

 

There's bleed screws. Do a search for a board member named shoebox and he has detailed instructions on his webpage on how to bleed the air from the system.

 

to get air out there are 2 blled screws one on the waterneck. and another on a water hose coming off the water pump. They look kinda like a/c fittings. oh and its a good idea to have some gasket sealant and a new rubber thermostat seal.

 

You don't have a correct understanding of how the cooling system works.

 

I use the following when replacing the thermo. It is easy and works just fine.

Really, you don't have to drain the coolant to replace the thermostat. Do this when the engine is cool (better after overnight or sitting for several hours where there is no residual pressure in the system). You will have to remove the intake elbow. Stuff absorbent rags or towels all around the thermostat housing to catch any coolant when you take the housing loose. Not a lot will come out. Just keep it off your optispark. Swap the thermostats and put the housing back on. Don't overtighten the bolts, they can break. No gasket or sealant is needed other than the rubber o-ring that is on the thermostat, itself. Put everything back together and put whatever amount of coolant you lost back into the remote reservoir. After a few thermocycles, the system will pull any coolant lost from the reservoir. Idle the engine and monitor the temp. If the temp goes abnormally high, you may have an air pocket. Open the bleeder screws after the thermostat is open to remove any air. Only a stream of coolant will come out when all air is gone and there will be no spitting or hissing. Close screws and monitor the temp.

 

Thanks for clarifying that Shoebox!! If you could possibly enlighten me on hooking up a manual fan switch in my other thread that'd be awesome too

I am about to put in a cam, should I just do the thermo at the same time?

-Michael