I originally left the thermostat out of my subaru conversion because i was concerned with getting plenty of water flow...and summer is long here in QLD...

but the ECU doesn't like cold water in winter...it idles at 2000rpm and guzzles fuel on short trips cos it never warms up.

I pieced together an external thermostat ages ago to go on the topside...i felt the factory placement at the bottom just didn't work for me



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i don't have a pic of it bolted together but you get the idea..

so i mounted this after the top water manifold beside the starter...had to wire it up to keep it away from the CV flange will figure out a better support later on.

filled the coolant back up and idled it for five minutes checking for leaks...drove it around a couple of blocks and the temp was up to normal and idle was perfect...yehaa

yea they are awesome those thermostats

U can get different thermostats to operate at different temperatures for the same 1 vehicle.
The bommodore is an example. You can pick a few to run it colder, or run it warmer etc, all based on the spring inside it and the thermo expansion etc. Theres variations.

Best to run with a thermstat though, the engine is alot happier, smoother and fuel economic at the proposed running temperature it was designed for. And it allows the oil to thin out a bit and all the different bottom end components can expend to the desired tolerances as designed.

Overall its all positive ! Although when in dire straits with overheating troubles, removing the thermostat is the best :P, particularly with headgasket degregation grief. Kept my silly car going for a good 3 or 4 months without pulling over every 10 minutes (try 20 lol). After all that crap, its whats really turned me to give the thumbs up to the aircooled option lol.

If ur in a hot climate with that car, the thermostat would simply just open all the way up, and would maintain proper temperature in the engine, as long as ur thermo fans are operational and u have good circulation at the radiator. So keep it in their when summer comes, and if u have overheating issues, then look at everything else, or find a 'cooler running' thermostat.

yeah all good points and true Chris but the main reason i went without was in the kombi with radiator at the front and the stat at the pump inlet there was no way it would open until too late...couldn't stop hoses blowing off etc...

but saw the external stat at the outlet end in Ricolas thread ...

ah i get ya! Yea tru, with teh length of hoses involved. I neva thought of that lol. Good work

good work.

Rob.

I'd love to know why the stock set-up doesn't work on your set-up, fella.

IIRC you have the BFG rad in the front panel.

Do you have a matrix, looped? That controls when your 'stat opens.

It's not exactly cold down there - unless you have a clorifier to heat your water. Massive heat dump if on the heater matrix side

I know Ricolla's intending the same business, but why not just sort what you have - like Scooby intended?

Subaruboxer's bug "runs a charm" (is this a Pommie saying?) he's driving in colder temps than us Poms

Balders all i know is the thermostat had to be in contact with nearly boiling water before it would open and it wasn't happening with the standard setup




i would be going up a very steep hill which the engine coped with fine powerwise but the water in the radiator would start boiling and vaporising and hammering. If i checked the return pipe it still wasn't hot. I figured it was better to have full circulation than the risk of hoses blowing.

Havn't tested this setup under heavy load like that yet but after 5 minutes temps are normal and the return pipe is hot...so i'm happy

Yeah thermostat placement makes all the difference.

Even stock applications can be touch and go. The Fairlane is totally stock and the t'stat gave me a fright before I figured it out.
Car stayed stone cold, then as the motor heated up, usually on the road the temp would start shooting up. At about 1/2 to 2/3 the t'stat would open and the temp crashes right down again. So then it closes and it shoots back up but not as far. This hysterisis goes on for a minute or two until all the water is the right temp. I imagine it to be far worse with all that extra hose!

yes Tristan i still have one mod to make to the cooling system...i want to add a davies electric pump to help circulate the water especially when going up very long steep hills sometimes in first gear offroad.

the water has to travel 4 metres to the radiator and at those angles it could be a metre higher than the engine...its a big ask for the pump