Is there a good reason to leave the thermostat out of a car

[bensonsnuts]

It's never nice when you buy a lemon  
 I've spent quite a lot trying to keep my Disco going . It came with wads of receipts for work done and parts bought . So do you think the previous owner was trying to cut his losses when he sold it to me .....or is there a good reason to leave the thermostat out of a motor apart from trying to disguise overheating and head faults ?

[hrox]

yeh there s good reason to leave the thermo stat out of a car unforunatly you said above....  hide an overheating issue when selling the car  :(   unlucky.


i do knwo there is another reason why you would take it out but cannot for the life of me remember why but im sure someone will brig it to light...

just dont give up if you can.  you spent to much to throw it all away  thought about maybe engine change and get round it that way (worst comes to the worst)

good luck anyways

[Snake110]

if you block youre rad out playing it can help
to remove the stat untill you can get the rad cleaned
otherwise there shouldent be a need to remove it
untill it packs up

[Bob696]

Took mine out when it packed up. Havn't got around to replacing it yet (12 months later).

[marjan]

Before you do anything drastic, try flushing out the rad & block as it may just be a sludge buildup. I did this on the Vitara and it cured the overheating.

[hairyasswelder]

In my experience the only reason to remove it is cause it is FUBAR.... The only overheating it will cure is what it causes. If it sticks open it will take ages to warm up, If stuck closed it will cause the engine to overheat and the rad will still be cold (no flow)
If removed it will take ages to warm up when cold.
Replace it and see what happens. If you flush the sytem at the same time it may help.  Good mix of antifreeze too  

Steve

[ian_s]

the engine was designed to have a stat in there, so it should be in there.
it helps the engine warm up quicker in the cold, which saves you fuel, and also saves against wear and tear.
there should be one in there

[V8MoneyPit]

Not sure on the Disco, but it was a common thing to do on Mini's..... however, it allowed the coolant to exit the head too quickly and not absorb the heat properly. This then caused the number 4 cylinder to overheat and valves would seize open.... the piston would come up and...... bang!

As said elsewhere, it was designed to have one so it is best that it is there. At best the previous owner wrongly thought it would help cooling in the summer. At worst, it was to hide a problem.

[Thrasher]

In some vehicles (mercs I think) if you remove the stat then nasty things happen as it is designed to be there, and as such is a part of the route for the coolant. Can't remember the specifics, but it is NOT GOOD :-)

[electricbluebadger]

could be the stat packed up and previous owner removed and didnt have a new one, why reassemble , drive to town to buy a new one, go home n strip to refit.....lazy I know but if planning to sell why bother (lookin on brighter side)

Cheers Steve

[jalopy joe]

If it runs cool and struggles to get up to temp then it probably just needs the stat replacing.  If however it warms up quickly and runs warm without the stat then you have a problem :roll:  :roll:

[bensonsnuts]

I'm waiting for a new head at the moment . The old one was cracked in 3 places . I have been running around for a year since I bought it tho'
 The previous owner specifically told me the engine ran cool because of the oversize intercooler.
 After replacing the water pump and fixing various leaks inc one from the base of the thermostat housing and replacing the fan with a Kenlowe . I was still never happy with it . It always seemed to have 2 different running temps . It would run cool around town or offroad , but on dual carriageways over 50mph it would hover just over halfway.
 All my previous motors only ever had one operating temp once they had warmed up !
 So I already know it's goosed . I'm just trying to amuse myself whilst it's being repaired by giving the seller the benefit of the doubt . You know who you are  

[greasemonkey]

HI
The size of the intercooler has little bearing on how hot the engine will run
the cooler the mixture the better the burn as cooler air has more O2
the temp of the mixture doesn't effect the engine temp much at all
no stat =cooler engine =wrong signals to sensors/cold heaters =more fuel wasted as ecu thinks still need extra fuel like a choke and the over fueling can cause the cat to destroy itself
working stat is the best thing =good heaters quickly=fast operating temp=good economy =cat works to full potential =emgine lasts longer
cheers
steve