Yes. I've already drilled mine with a 1/8" bit..
..and make sure the hole is at 12 o'clock when installing
..and make sure the hole is at 12 o'clock when installing
Water Pump And Thermostat Housing Recommendations
- Thread starter liquidfluidity
- Start date
For those of you replacing water pumps who haven't heard this before. Keep your fan clutch in its normal orientation. That is perpendicular to the ground. There is a viscous fluid inside the clutch. On an older clutch, impurities in the fluid can settle in the bearing area and cause the clutch to lockup when it should freewheel. Not likely to cause overheating, but a fan that's locked up will make noise and use extra fuel when maximum cooling is not required. I have observed this several times over the years. Don't lay the fan clutch flat when it's not on the engine.
MountaineerTom
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Is that the key? Because new ones come flat in a box and who knows how they have been handled and oriented before you get them.
This is the first I’ve heard of drilling a hole in the thermostat. Can you tell me why this is done?
When I did my first coolant flush and t stat change I didn't drill a hole in the top of the t stat. What then proceeded was around 4 hours of troubleshooting trying to figure out why the engine was overheating and my coolant reservoir was bubbling. When you go to burp the system of air, air gets trapped behind the thermostat. The hole allows the air to escape without the thermostat having to be open.
It has no adverse affects on the time is takes the engine to heat up, I had no problem with it getting up to temp in the Canadian winters.
Mopar recommends the 195 degree t stat. Installing a 180 would make it run too cool.
That hole allows the cooling system to bleed off the air when filling. Eliminates burping when refilling with coolant.
195* is where that engine will run most efficiently. At 180*, it's most likely running richer than it should also.
I just installed a 195 Stant this week and it did not come with a hole. I drilled it and installed.
+1 on the OEM water pump, its been a year since i replaced it, but I felt much more confident with one identical to the original, which finally went at about 100k miles. Watched a lot of videos prior and the non OEM looked cheap to me and i figure if the 1st one lasted that long it was a no brainer. I also second taking time with a razor blade to make sure the old gasket was gone. If i remember correctly, there were a couple nooks and crannies that were fairly difficult to remove.
A 180* T stat may make the engine run cooler but you don't want that because it increases wear on the engine.
Engineers found long ago that 210* is the ideal temp for a water cooled internal combustion engine. That temp provides for the best lubrication. If the engine runs too cool the cylinders don't fully expand and this causes faster than normal cylinder and piston ring wear.
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