Anyone have any experience with a t-stat from Auto Zone or Advanced Auto Parts? I recently purchased one from Advanced and am somewhat scared to put it in. I dont even think the t-stat is the issue but my dad insists that its the problem. I think that the heater core needs to be flushed in order to get heat in the cockpit working again.

 

If your not getting hot air in the car I would flush the the cooling system. As far as the thermostat they are LT1 specific so other SBC thermostats won't work.

 

I got one from Autozone, its the stock 195, make sure to get one specifically for the year of your LT1, the thermostat on the lt1's is larger than a standard SBC if I recall correctly. Works perfect. I change mine out once a year.

 

Unless they started carrying them recently, Autozone does not have the correct thermostat for the LT1. What you will get is the SBC thermostat, which is different, but will fit.

 

Crap, thats right, I got mine from o'reilley's.

 

our LT1's take a specific thermo..its a reverse flow thermo..if u put in any SBC thermo u will have problems

 

I got a "Duralast" 160* from AZone. Put it in 2 days ago. It is NOT as TALL as the stock 180*. Don't know what's up w/ that.. but so far it is definately staying cooler... fans on earlier.

 

Because it's the wrong thermostat. That's why it's not as tall. You may or may not have problems with it.

 

If the thermo fits perfectly in the hole does that mean it's the right one?

I got one from NAPA that's a 195, but the bottom side looked a little different than my stock one, and it fit perfectly.

 

180 is the stock thermostat, not 195 and only the long thermostat that is specifically made for the reverse flow LT1 is the correct one. The SBC thermostat is the same diameter, but is not the correct one. This information has been posted so many times on this board, I can't believe that people don't still know this.

 

Will the car not run normally if you use a standard SBC thermo? Maybe I was wrong about it being 195.

 

The SBC thermostat does not have the lower portion that seals off an orifice in the water pump when the thermostat opens. Therefore, some heated coolant will go right back into the engine and some coolant from the radiator will go back into the radiator. Proper efficiency is lost. It may not cause any immediate problems, but could cause lack of cooling in the summer.

 

i installed the 180 tstat that i bought at autozone...it was the correct one not hte SBC one. They sold a different once that came with a seperate gasket. I didnt buy that one, I bought the one with the o-ring on it and it is the correct one but it didnt solve my problem with the heat.

I am posting from a friends name. Mine regular user name is ThotYouKnew

 

Flush the heater core. It's a common problem.

 

Thank you for your help. I'll check it tommorow, It's going on 0 degrees outside so no problems with hot coolant