thermostat. missing?

[kiwizook]

so I was looking at some stuff yesterday, and I all of a sudden realized I haven't come across a thermostat on my engine when I rebuilt it, where is it supposed to be located on a f10a engine? I believe it sits in the elbow like piece screwed on the intake manifold, where the rad hose connects to it. any pics other ideas? what harm does it do if it's missing?

[mk1joe]

yep, its suppose to be in the manifold under that casting like you said. it wont do any harm if its missing though, the engine just wont get to operating temperature as quick as it usually would. infact a lot of people take them out to prevent over heating. maby the one that was in it was seized shut.

i took the thermostat out of my 410 when i thought it seemed to be getting a bit hot.

[ScottieJ]

Yes that's the only place it would be.

I would never run a car without a thermostat, it's there to regulate the engine temperature.

Lots of people just take them out when thy stop working but they are so cheap there's not really any reason not to just buy a new one.

[dazerede]

Here is a pic of a 1.3 manafold but the thermosat is pretty much the same place

[kiwizook]

yea, just what I though. might have to get a new one

[twiss]

lots of people take them out if there is an engine overheating problem, rather than fixing it!!!

[mk1joe]

Its just to easy not to.

[windsor]

All thwy do os allow a small amont of water to get hot 1st for yourr heaters without one it takes longer for your heaters to start working
No big issue infact not haveing one wil allow youre engine to run cooler under daily driveinf wotxh is better for them

[twiss]

Thats not actually right... as scottie says it is important for regulating your coolant temperature.
The heater temp is more of a side effect.

The stat has a small hole in it which, when closed, still allows a small amount of water flow.
This helps the engine to heat up more quickly from cold (and the heater).

Once the engine is up to temp (82*C usually) the stat will open a bit to keep the engine at 82-90*C

If you don't have a thermostat in, the engine will sit at around 60-70 degrees. When the lower heat is sort of better for the engine, it still won't be warmed up and this will give you slightly the wrong mixture! This will probably negate the positive effects of having a cooler engine.

Its not so much of a problem for those with injection or auto-chokes, but those with a manual choke will in theory have their mixture set up for a specific running temp range

[kiwizook]

sound logical and sensible, have installed one now, just hope it's the right way around