T-Stat Re-location?

[DeMilled_83_4x4]

The OFFY intake manifold I went with uses a water neck that replaces the Ranger water neck. The Ranger water neck had the thermostat in it and this new water neck won't hold the old T-Stat and does not come with a new one...or am I missing something there?

I had heard that this same block had come with the T-Stat located at the bottom of the block and I was thinking maybe I needed to install a T-Stat down there now that I don't have one in my water neck. Is that even possible?

What would running my truck without the T-Stat do? Besides taking a while to warm up in the mornings.

 

[baddis]

all the 2.8's i have had had the tstat located behind the neck the lower radiator hose hooks to . kind of a pain in the ass to change but there is a trick. tie a piece of thread to the t stat to hold it in place. line the neck, timing cover and the back up and start the bolts by hand.

 

[alabamaranger]

85 T-stat

Not all 2.8 has the t-stat in the lower hose. Ford got smart and move it to the top in 85. Best conversion you will ever do. No more air in the system or over heating. Had nothing but trouble with the lower t-stat. Converted to the top, 4 years with no problems.

 

[JoshT]

Not all 2.8 has the t-stat in the lower hose. Ford got smart and move it to the top in 85. Best conversion you will ever do. No more air in the system or over heating. Had nothing but trouble with the lower t-stat. Converted to the top, 4 years with no problems.

Alabamaranger... While I'm sure this that is the preferable place to put the T-Stat he can't. He's installing an Offy intake manifold which requires that the T-stat be relocated to the bottom of the block in the water inlet. Prior to rebuilding my engine it had no trouble with the lower t-stat location combined with the Offy intake during over 15 years of running.

DeMilled_83_4x4... First off you don't want to run without a thermostat, if you must do so at least make a restrictor plate, with some searching you should be able to find details on the net. Biggest thing to remember is when you do put in the lower location make sure you backfill it and allow any trapped air to escape. One way to alleviate the trapped air situation is to drill a 1/8" hole in the top of the T-stat, and then back fill the block as much as possible. I actually backfilled the radiator through the engine, it was a slow process but it insured no air trapped in the engine. You can also find information on the drilling around the net.

 

[enginepaul]

When the thermostat is in the lower location you do need that small hole in the t-stat; most come with the hole. If you don't want to back-fill as the Ford manual says, just drive it a bit and fill the radiator. That way you are sure there is no air.

That lower housing, behind the water pump is a pain and not available anywhere I looked, so be careful not to damage it.

 

[JoshT]

In my experience you can usually pull the forward part of that housing without pulling the back. Just be careful installing and removing the bolts, it'd suck to be putting it together to have the bolts strip or break. Back when I first got my 84 I did have to replace the T-stat, there were no problems with the bolts and it had been installed for well over 10 years. I also removed and reinstalled the bolts 3 times since the rebuild (first T-stat was faulty).

 

[DeMilled_83_4x4]

Hey guys I'm sorry for dropping out of site on this question. I know it's rude to ask then not follow up but life decided to kick me around for a minute there.

I am about to get some work on the truck done and wanted to thank everyone for their help on this one, especially JoshT. Thanks guys.

 

[OilPatch197]

In my experience you can usually pull the forward part of that housing without pulling the back. Just be careful installing and removing the bolts, it'd suck to be putting it together to have the bolts strip or break. Back when I first got my 84 I did have to replace the T-stat, there were no problems with the bolts and it had been installed for well over 10 years. I also removed and reinstalled the bolts 3 times since the rebuild (first T-stat was faulty).

Yeah! Those long bolts! but if you do strip the right hole (if I recall two out of the three can be drilled thru) you could just use thread-all and two nuts and "sandwich" the thing together.

another problem is that that hose that goes from the rear thermostat housing to the intake....

I've replaced it, but it seems that each end the nipples are different sizes! the casted nipple at the bottom is smaller than the top nipple, to get a good fit, I had to install a brass elbow with two different sizes of nipples on each side, using two different sizes of hose to get a good fit.

 

[yoyodyne]

Not all 2.8 has the t-stat in the lower hose. Ford got smart and move it to the top in 85. Best conversion you will ever do. No more air in the system or over heating. Had nothing but trouble with the lower t-stat. Converted to the top, 4 years with no problems.

you have GOT to tell me what parts I need to do this. I spent a month and a bunch of money on parts fighting cooling problems on our 84 BII. New hoses,radiator,water pump, and 4 different thermostats. Had to use a 160 degree thermostat to keep it from overheating. All the while cursing Ford for putting the t-stat where they did. What genius decided to put it on the cold side of the radiator anyway?

 

[trents]

Like JoshT said, it's really important to back fill on the 2.8's with the lower T-stat. By that is meant to disconnect the upper radiator hose from the radiator and pour coolant in to the end of it. If you will hold it down at the same level as the radiator inlet while you fill the hose you will minimize the spill mess. When it is full, reconnect it to the radiator inlet. This procedure gets most of the air out of the top of the engine. Then run the motor and watch the temp gauge. As the needle starts to climb feel the lower radiator hose with your hand. If it doesn't start to get warm by the time the temp gauage needle is almost on hot, turn the engine off and let it sit for a few minutes. Sometimes the stat will open up after you turn the engine off. Check the coolant level in the radiator again and restart the engine. Keep feeling the lower hose to see if it starts to get warm (and keep checking the temp gauge), indicating something is starting to flow through it and the stat has finally opened up.

 

[ammocj]

you have GOT to tell me what parts I need to do this.

I'm doing this to my stock 2 barrel intake.
I took the top hose housing that hase the temp sensor in it to a machine shop with a thermostat and had them machine it.
They had it done in a day, I hope to pick it up tomorrow and install once I remove my engine (again) and replace all the gaskets. (think I blew a head gasket)
So it'll be a a day or so before I know how much it cost and even longer before I know how it works but I can't imagine any problems.

Al

 

[BWOLIVER]

Is there a way to find out by vin etc.. what 2.8 has the therm. in the upper or the lower? I could of sweared that my 84 ranger was in the upper housing, been running with out it for years.