Thermostat September 13, 2014, 09:18:10 PM Found out during a coolant flush, the thermostat on my 83 5.0L was stuck open. Made for a easy flush tho. Guess the factory warranty has expired. :hick: Of course there are only 2 bolts that need to come off but one is hidden. Requiring removal of a bunch of stuff. Original thermostat and bolts and the car gods were looking down on me since neither bolt broke off. Odd looking thermostat. Anyone familiar with them? Quote Selected
Thermostat Reply #1 – September 13, 2014, 09:54:59 PM It is a Robert Shaw basically the original Fail safe stat. When it goes bad it goes bad open 99% of the time. They are a blessing . Also full flow high performance stat. I can not believe the useless i know. That is what happens when you get old and in the car business 50 Years i guess. Have a great day guys. http://www.flowkoolerwaterpumps.com/store/Thermostats/c22/index.html Quote Selected
Thermostat Reply #2 – September 14, 2014, 09:54:28 AM Not useless at all :) It's good you can remember all of this stuff. Taught me something new!I'm wondering why this would style would have been used on my car (easy for Ford since they had them built? It has a E0 engineering number) or some other reason?Now what to replace it with? Seems the Robertshaw is difficult to find, the Mr Gasket version gets some bad reviews and the standard off the shelf thermostat is a different design with a smaller opening. Thinking about a standard Stant for example, 180 degree, and adding a temporary temp sensor somewhere to see just ho hot the engine gets in normal operation. If all looks good can then install an OEM 195 degree (197 on original) thermostat.Comments/suggestions?Thanks... Quote Selected
Thermostat Reply #3 – September 14, 2014, 10:01:15 AM Also, I don't see the failsafe mechanism on the thermostat. I know some have a little tab that will hold the thermostat open if it passed that point (high temp). The guts of my original are broken up. Quote Selected
Thermostat Reply #4 – September 14, 2014, 11:10:22 AM Super stats are good from NAPA and Advanced auto has Fail Safe. 180 is a good choice. That stat is OE by the way, Quote Selected
Thermostat Reply #5 – September 14, 2014, 11:36:51 AM Advance carries Superstats too. I was thinking OEM was 197 degrees by the stamping on the button but it too is unusual. Used to seeing 195 degrees.Thanks for the info. Will probably go w/ a 180 degree Superstat and see how it goes. Will monitor the temp with my laser thermometer to get some ballpark numbers. Quote Selected
Thermostat Reply #6 – September 14, 2014, 12:31:53 PM nice pics,,my son's tbird had a factory ford pn tstat,, it eventually stuck open. Quote Selected