Thermostat for carb'd 454 motorhome

[leroyd92]

Mine has a 195 thermostat in it, would there be any benefit going to a 180 or 160?

I know heat is a vital thing to engine efficiency and oil life, so id like everyone's opinion on here.

I know 454s run hot. My winters here are 30° and summmers are 117° to 125°

 

[SilverFusion2010]

I would keep the 195. Are you having problems with it running hot?

 

[Jimzz]

Stick with a good quality 195. Make sure the radiator cap is also newer as well.

If those are new and you are having over heating issues then fix the problem, don't try to cover it up with a lower temp thermostat.

 

[dirtymudder]

I have 1990 MH with the 454 4bbl in it. i went to a 180 degree stat but it still ran around 210 on the flat. One thing that helped, was completely sealing up the front end. Meaning any air coming through the grill has to go through the radiator. The other thing that really fix the problem was pulling the radiator and having it recored. I found that it was a 4 core radiator with 3/8" tubes. They resized the cores up to 5/8" and kept it a 4 core radiator. It now runs at 180 degrees.

 

[mk378]

A lower temperature thermostat won't help overheating. Once the thermostat is fully open by the temperature being above the setpoint rating, the flow through the thermostat is the same regardless of its rating.

 

[Chris142]

Any problems with the fuel boiling?

 

[DoubleWasp]

I would have ditched the 4 core fr a modern 2 core radiator, but what's done is working for you.

Drop in a 195 stat.

 

[Nick1994]

I'd use a 195 but make sure the opening isn't smaller than an OEM one. I had that issue with a Stant for a Trailblazer, opening was much smaller than the one from the dealership.

 

[92saturnsl2]

All I saw using a 180 degree thermostat on my 460 was lower gas mileage. The truck didn't perform any better, so I went back to 195. If you're having overheating problems (above 195), a thermostat won't fix it as suggested above.

 

[leroyd92]

No issues@ all

Drove the motorhome up a steep low speed incline when we brought it home. Got 1 needle width hotter....

I just didn't know what the right answer was with thermostats. Alls i knew was cold didn't always mean better.

 

[Olas]

Water doesn't boil until 212, you only saw 210. The difference is that 212 is at 1atm but in a sealed system with a working radiator cap you see roughly 30psi absolute which does not allow water to boil until 250f.

If the rad is clean/back flushed and the stat/pump/fan switch all work correctly then look at the gauge, sender and earth.

 

[leroyd92]

Pulled 2 different 195 stats @ work tonight. Got to look @ the high flo one murray makes.

Walked out with it tonight !