Ho'kay, now I realize that I *have* in fact changed a T-stat on a lopo 5.0 before (88 T-bird), and while there are some peculiar bits of awkward, it's not *that* bad, but . . .
But . . . and this story is really more for entertainment than anything . . .
Alright, it's been in the low-20s recently, and I've noticed that I have to turn the heat all the way up, after having given the car several miles to warm up, to get it warm enough to be comfortable - or, if it's the high-20s, maybe a smidgen or two less than absolute maximum HOT.
When Friday was suddenly in the low 50s, I figured that was my reprieve, and I should really change the thermostat I bought MONTHS ago.
Huh, well, ok, the ignition module's at a slightly better angle than it was on my T-bird, so that's a bonus.
The documentation from the previous owner shows that the cooling system had been "flushed" - but no mention of a T-stat change. Eh, who knows, might even be the factory unit in there.
Urk, well, that's an incredibly unappetizing color of coolant coming out of the drain, and isn't there supposed to be a small hose or something so it doesn't just dump to the support bracket and spill out those holes? I guess that "flushing" never really happened (funny, though, the color looks good at the top!)
Uh, I don't REMEMBER the hose clamp on the bypass blocking the one tstat housing bolt, but, ok, let's get that out of the way.
Hrm, I must've forgotten how that weird position of the water pump blocks the other bolt, meaning awkward 1/8th turn at a time loosening with a wrench, etc.
Ok, that was more of a PITA than it should've been, but JOY! Everything's off now. Ouch, what're these pointy things, and this is a funny looking t-stat. Motorcraft? With a nice long Ford part number? Factory issue? Not surprising.
Scrape the gasket off - which seems to want to come off only ONE FIBER at a time. Oh, a few parts were nice, cooperative, hardened chips that came off in a solid chunk, but mostly it's scraping awkwardly.
Ok, let's get the Permatex applied, and let's get the new tstat out and ready.
Uh, what's this? Why is 180F engraved on the copper part of the new thermostat? I did NOT ask for that! Quick call to Autozone, and they DO in fact have a 195F in stock. Grab an old PCV valve for a car I no longer own, along with the receipt I retained, might as well get that refunded as well - but alas, no receipt for the thermostat (but it's a Duralast, so Autozone's not going to say "You didn't get that here.")
Hop in the 1979 Cutlass - hope it starts, hasn't been started in months, and nobody's home who can get the part for me, AND I have to get my son later tonight...
Yay, I'm here. Without my wallet. Ugh. Unfortunately, the 195F t-stat costs more than the 180F version - WEIRD. But the PCV valve refund makes up for it, so I now have the right 195F unit, and 52 cents change. Yay.
Rush back home, start putting things together and goddammit who the hell thought a horizontal mounting for this was a good idea?!?!?! Didn't they have ANY idea how awkward it is to keep things in place that way when reassembling in tight confines?!?!
Lots of fumbling, some swearing, but I finally get it back together after a bit more use of Permatex. Not too much, and I wonder if I should've tried cleaning off the old Permatex from 40 minutes ago first.
Reattach everything. Including bypass hose and upper radiator hose - make sure to position hose clamps for easier access with rachet/screwdriver for next time, if next time ever occurs.
Put everything back together, new antifreeze (about a 1/3 - 2/3 proportion of universal antifreeze to distilled water, after all, it doesn't EVER get below 0 degrees F here), fill things up completely.... no leaks apparent yet. Run the car a little bit, still no leaks.
And nothing bad happened on the round trip to pick up my son. Yay me - I was anxious not that it was particularly difficult, but it seemed that I was plagued with an "anything that CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong, and then some" sort of day.
I would say that I had to move the slider much less to get sufficient heat, but since it only dipped down into the mid 40s, that might just be the fact that the incoming air was not as cold. I guess I'll find out for sure when we get those nasty sub-freezing nights again. Did seem to warm up more quickly, at least.
Still, I wonder what the old T-stat was doing, and at what temperatures....
But . . . and this story is really more for entertainment than anything . . .
Alright, it's been in the low-20s recently, and I've noticed that I have to turn the heat all the way up, after having given the car several miles to warm up, to get it warm enough to be comfortable - or, if it's the high-20s, maybe a smidgen or two less than absolute maximum HOT.
When Friday was suddenly in the low 50s, I figured that was my reprieve, and I should really change the thermostat I bought MONTHS ago.
Huh, well, ok, the ignition module's at a slightly better angle than it was on my T-bird, so that's a bonus.
The documentation from the previous owner shows that the cooling system had been "flushed" - but no mention of a T-stat change. Eh, who knows, might even be the factory unit in there.
Urk, well, that's an incredibly unappetizing color of coolant coming out of the drain, and isn't there supposed to be a small hose or something so it doesn't just dump to the support bracket and spill out those holes? I guess that "flushing" never really happened (funny, though, the color looks good at the top!)
Uh, I don't REMEMBER the hose clamp on the bypass blocking the one tstat housing bolt, but, ok, let's get that out of the way.
Hrm, I must've forgotten how that weird position of the water pump blocks the other bolt, meaning awkward 1/8th turn at a time loosening with a wrench, etc.
Ok, that was more of a PITA than it should've been, but JOY! Everything's off now. Ouch, what're these pointy things, and this is a funny looking t-stat. Motorcraft? With a nice long Ford part number? Factory issue? Not surprising.
Scrape the gasket off - which seems to want to come off only ONE FIBER at a time. Oh, a few parts were nice, cooperative, hardened chips that came off in a solid chunk, but mostly it's scraping awkwardly.
Ok, let's get the Permatex applied, and let's get the new tstat out and ready.
Uh, what's this? Why is 180F engraved on the copper part of the new thermostat? I did NOT ask for that! Quick call to Autozone, and they DO in fact have a 195F in stock. Grab an old PCV valve for a car I no longer own, along with the receipt I retained, might as well get that refunded as well - but alas, no receipt for the thermostat (but it's a Duralast, so Autozone's not going to say "You didn't get that here.")
Hop in the 1979 Cutlass - hope it starts, hasn't been started in months, and nobody's home who can get the part for me, AND I have to get my son later tonight...
Yay, I'm here. Without my wallet. Ugh. Unfortunately, the 195F t-stat costs more than the 180F version - WEIRD. But the PCV valve refund makes up for it, so I now have the right 195F unit, and 52 cents change. Yay.
Rush back home, start putting things together and goddammit who the hell thought a horizontal mounting for this was a good idea?!?!?! Didn't they have ANY idea how awkward it is to keep things in place that way when reassembling in tight confines?!?!
Lots of fumbling, some swearing, but I finally get it back together after a bit more use of Permatex. Not too much, and I wonder if I should've tried cleaning off the old Permatex from 40 minutes ago first.
Reattach everything. Including bypass hose and upper radiator hose - make sure to position hose clamps for easier access with rachet/screwdriver for next time, if next time ever occurs.
Put everything back together, new antifreeze (about a 1/3 - 2/3 proportion of universal antifreeze to distilled water, after all, it doesn't EVER get below 0 degrees F here), fill things up completely.... no leaks apparent yet. Run the car a little bit, still no leaks.
And nothing bad happened on the round trip to pick up my son. Yay me - I was anxious not that it was particularly difficult, but it seemed that I was plagued with an "anything that CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong, and then some" sort of day.
I would say that I had to move the slider much less to get sufficient heat, but since it only dipped down into the mid 40s, that might just be the fact that the incoming air was not as cold. I guess I'll find out for sure when we get those nasty sub-freezing nights again. Did seem to warm up more quickly, at least.
Still, I wonder what the old T-stat was doing, and at what temperatures....
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