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engine temp

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tahoe healey

tahoe healey

Yoda
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Perhaps a dumb question or two but...
This morning was beautiful and roads dry. The temps outside were 18 degrees. I couldn't resist a drive to the office in the BJ8. The question is this...The engine temps reached only 140. In summer she runs at 160 to 190. She ran very well and smooth today. But the low temps bothered me. The PO put in the thermostat so I don't know when it should open or what type it is. Can I do damage at this low temp? The proper thermostat has a colloror sleeve around it at $40.00. The NAPA ones don't but are cheap. Any imput?
 
If you are running a "summer" thermostat, I would guess that it is in the 160 to 170 degree range. If it opens at, say 165, and the ambient temp is 18 degrees, I would think that 140 may be a realistic number. Have you ever put a thermometer in the radiator, and compared the reading to what the gauge says? A candy thermometer will work, and it's always good to know that the gauges are accurately reflecting what is really going on.
Normally, if you are running in the cold, you change to a higher temp stat. Probably a 180-190. The manual should have recommendations on the proper one to use.
The concern with running an engine at 140 degrees is that insufficient heat is built up to boil off the condensation in the oil, as well as other contaminants. That's why you see the oil change intervals for a car used for short trips to be much more frequent than a car that gets driven for longer distances, or more frequently.
I've never had any problems with a NAPA thermostat, and I've been running them for years. They are made by STANT, one of the better manufacturers out there. As a matter of fact, I installed a NAPA stat yesterday in a prototype that I'm working on for one of the "Big Three"
Jeff
 
Jeff has some good suggestions.

Or your thermostat may be defective & not completely closing.

The sleeve is to block off the internal coolant bypass when the thermostat is open. The sleeve could give better cooling in hot weather but won't affect cold running.

You can try changing the thermostat & see if it helps.
D
 
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