Changing thermostat 2x a year?

[Escape08]

This might sound silly but are there anyone of you BITOGers change your vehicle's thermostat from 160 deg on summer & change it to 190 deg on winter? And also I a mechanic once told me, running your car with a 160 deg thermostat prevents your vehicle ever for having blown head gasket, he said for as long as you own your car...guaranteed. I wonder if this is true.

 

[2EHA]

no

cars run hot for a reason

 

[oggb]

Not only do I change the thermostat, I also still change from 20W in the winter to SAE 30 in the spring.*

* - this is sarcasm

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I'd prefer my vehicles to run at operating temperature year round.

 

[BHopkins]

I'd prefer my vehicles to run at operating temperature year round.

This^^^^^.

The thermostat on newer cars is much more critical than it used to be, say 30 or 40 years ago. Most modern cars depend upon the thermostat to keep the engine running at the ideal operating temperature for best performance and efficiency. The ECU is constantly reading engine temperature and making adjustments, but there is only so much it can do if the engine is constantly running at a temperature too far out of where intended. Catalytic converters don't perform as well as they should.

For me, whenever a thermostat is replaced, it is replaced with the same as the OEM.

 

[Gimpy1]

no

cars run hot for a reason

Yup its for emissions. People still don't understand that in todays computer controlled cars changing one component affects many other systems.

 

[Chris142]

no

cars run hot for a reason

What is hot to us is not hot to them.

 

[Gimpy1]

I've lived in North Texas since 1982, and have never had any overheating issues on a properly maintained car. Even in the brutal summer with the a/c on. When I was a field appraiser I had a company car and from 7 am to 7pm it stayed on the entire day (unless I was getting fuel) because my computer printer etc all ran off the cars power. In the summer I would run the a/c to prevent the laptop and printer from over heating. If I was at a shop the car would sit idleing for hours. Never once did any of the appraisers in Texas or Arizona have issues. Leave the factory thermostat alone, you run more risks changing it and not getting all the air out. Change your coolant when recommended and "If it ain't broke dont fix it"

 

[Skippy722]

My old (old by my standards, it was a 2011) Durango would hit 230F-235F before ramping the fan to max speed, where it would drop to 200F in about 10 seconds and cycle the fan back down/off and repeat if not moving. If the AC was on or I was moving faster than 10mph it maintained a solid 203F. 105k miles and never once had a head gasket issue.

 

[ecotourist]

My dad changed the thermostat spring and fall right into the '50s. He was real old school - born in 1902. He knew how to pour babbitt bearings, use a strip of leather as a temporary bearing substitute, etc.

 

[Creekside]

I only change the thermostat yearly on one vehicle that I care for. It is an Ottawa yard tractor that runs 24/7 most of the year. I change it in May to ensure maximum cooling efficiency. It is powered by a 5.9 Cummins and often pulls in excess of 80k pounds with the AC on full blast. It’s either idling or pedal to the floor around the clock.

Other vehicles get thermostats as they fail or if I have the system open for another repair.

 

[Lubener]

This might sound silly but are there anyone of you BITOGers change your vehicle's thermostat from 160 deg on summer & change it to 190 deg on winter? And also I a mechanic once told me, running your car with a 160 deg thermostat prevents your vehicle ever for having blown head gasket, he said for as long as you own your car...guaranteed. I wonder if this is true.

May not blow a head gasket but the remainder of the engine will be suffering from premature wear running a 160 degree thermostat.

 

[atikovi]

Do you have a car from the 1950's? That was pretty common back then, but you also changed the coolant twice a year, changed the oil every 1000 or 2000 miles and replaced spark plugs every 6000 miles.

 

[Chris142]

Do you have a car from the 1950's? That was pretty common back then, but you also changed the coolant twice a year, changed the oil every 1000 or 2000 miles and replaced spark plugs every 6000 miles.

And adjusted the points every 6k also.

 

[atikovi]

And adjusted the points every 6k also.

Maybe in the 60's. Back in the 50's I think they were replaced at that interval along with the condenser plus probably the cap and rotor.

 

[doublebase]

No, your car is designed to reach operating temperature quickly to begin closed loop status with the ECM; once it's up to operating temp quickly, you want it to stay there and perform there.

 

[KrisZ]

You are right is does sound silly and it is silly.
Back in a day there some validity to it and even then it was case by case basis, but not for anything made in the past 30 years.

 

[ecotourist]

I remember the maintenance on my '65 Comet all too well. I changed the points, spark plugs, condenser and rotor once a year (10,000 miles in those days). And if the car wasn't running right I would file and reset the points about one additional time per year. Ignition timing was reset along with the points, plugs and condenser change. I changed the plug wires and the distributor cap once in the 50,000 miles I owned the car.

The oil was 5W-20 in the winter and 10W-30 in the summer. I don't remember the oil change interval but do remember it was often. I flushed and changed the coolant once a year.

Tires lasted 20,000 miles (and were well worn by then). I bought 2 new tires every spring and put them on the front (which is what was considered the right place for your best tires in those days). Radiator hoses were changed once in the 50,000 miles and the fan belt a couple of times.

It was a lot of work to keep a car going in those days. But I never did get into changing the thermostat spring and fall.

 

[Escape08]

Tires lasted 20,000 miles (and were well worn by then). I bought 2 new tires every spring and put them on the front (which is what was considered the right place for your best tires in those days).

Tire recaps/retreads were popular too back then. Cost a lot less than buying a new set of tire. What is not so common were the radials, tubeless tires & mag wheels.

 

[Duffyjr]

And adjusted the points every 6k also.

I remember setting them with a matchbook cover before I purchased a dwell/tach meter.