Thermostat or Water Restrictor/Washer...4.3L/5.3L

redneckengineered · May 17, 2018

bbtank45 said:
Trying to fix some issues I've dealt with on my buggy for a while.

Are any of you running a flow restrictor in place of a thermostat?

I run a dual spal fan Griffin radiator (31x19?) setup, fans run all the time and the coolant temps stay around 190-200....and get there pretty quickly.

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Sounds like your cooling system is operating perfectly. That's the sweet spot for an LS.

I'm not a fan of flow restrictors or no thermostat setups. Plenty of people do it and claim it works, I won't refute that. Just saying I'm not a fan.

redneckengineered · May 17, 2018

onepieceatatime said:
Redneckengineered had a good thread on LS thermostats you could search for. I can't find it with tapatalk at the moment.

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http://www.hardlinecrawlers.com/forums/index.php?topic=43397.0

mcutler · May 17, 2018

Re: Re: Thermostat or Water Restrictor/Washer...4.3L/5.3L

redneckengineered said:
Sounds like your cooling system is operating perfectly. That's the sweet spot for an LS.

I'm not a fan of flow restrictors or no thermostat setups. Plenty of people do it and claim it works, I won't refute that. Just saying I'm not a fan.

I'm with you. And ditto the bypass.

The factory ecm wants the engine to operate at optimum efficiency for combustion....That's why they regulate around 205-210. And also why I built my cooling system to mimic the factory with 190 tstat, steam lines, heater(or bypass), and sealed radiator with the cap in an expansion tank (tied in through heater loop and steam lines) with a separate overflow. Stays 210 all day long.

For added insurance, I run a 50/50 mix, but I use a 20 psi cap (all -AN fittings in my system) to help raise the boiling point a bit for the long hard obstacles.

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doubleud · May 17, 2018

jccarter1 said:
Can someone explain the heat bypass bc I have blocked all mine and never had a issue with over heating but I do keep the steam port to the top of radiator

The reason for the heater bypass is you never want the water in a running engine to stand still, that causes hot spots and localized boiling of the coolant which causes steam pockets to form. Thats the reason you hear some guys complain about never being able to bleed all the air out of their cooling system, its not that theyre not getting all the air out, its because of the steam is forming new air. I dont recall ever seeing a stock vehicle that didnt have some means of circulating water through the block while the thermostat is closed to prevent this. As long as you have some way for the coolant to keep flowing through the block you will never have this problem which is the reason guys with gutted thermostats or water restrictors dont have problems

redneckengineered · May 18, 2018

I block off my thermostat completely. 100% sealed. That way I can run the hills with the bouncers and overheat in 10 seconds and feel like I belong to the cool kids club.

slravenel · May 18, 2018

redneckengineered said:
I block off my thermostat completely. 100% sealed. That way I can run the hills with the bouncers and overheat in 10 seconds and feel like I belong to the cool kids club.

welded that bad boy shut! water weighs too much to haul up the hill anyway...had to save some weight because of those 3/4" thick shock tabs!! :popcorn: