Yup, I’ve had one instance of a bad heat soak. I saw 208 in the drive through after idling with AC at Discount Tire for some time….and she struggled to cool down past 203-206 on a 97 degree day. Stop lights were a bit concerning Not terrible though. She’s still running cooler and consistent.

 

I just finished installing this mod tonight (180 tstat) and I was honestly shocked at the difference. I had replaced the thermostat when I bought it with a 180 deg factory tstat. On the factory I was seeing 193-204 temps (212 max when I had a bad fan clutch, since replaced). After my test drive I was seeing 174-188. Heat soaked sitting at idle was 188. I only saw 188 if I was coasting downhill in a headwind. Its not as "rock solid" temp as some say, but what a world of difference.

EDIT: So, this mod has been on for a few weeks now. During install I had found that my heater hoses were about to fail, so I hadn't stuck coolant in until I could replace those. Got those replaced and now I pretty much see 182 on normal highway driving. It may climb to 184 186 on a big pull up a hill and drop to 177 when the fan clutch kicks on. Idle on a hot day it might bump up to 188 to 190, that goes immediately down with a little rpm. The temp band has really tightened up. Also big bonus - I have for the first time since owning this rig gotten rid of the sloshing sound! First time I've been able to bleed all the air out of the system.

 

Hey Tim. I think I'm ready to pull the trigger and get your inline thermo mod mate.
I installed the black 180 degree thermostat 4 years ago and recently I noticed my temps creeping around 196-205 degrees even in cool weather here in England and having the Hayden/Dorman combo on my V8.
My temps usually sit around 178-185 sensed by my UltraGuage Blue but 4 years later, the temps are creeping up higher with that old school thermostat even with a coolant flush I did a year ago.

After looking at the options for the kit, I'm wanting the Re-usable silicone thermostat gasket for $11.00 but it's currently unavailable.
What is the difference between the silicone gasket and the Fel-Pro 35710 Rubber O-ring thermostat gasket for $5.50?
Cheers!

 

Yes, had a bit of a supply chain issue with the silicone gasket that is now resolved. 1 in stock now with more coming later this week. The silicone gasket is much more user friendly than the o-ring gasket. You need to be very careful centering the thermostat if you use the o-ring.

 

Thanks Tim for the quick reply. Cheers!

 

Ordered!

 

Shipping out in the morning. You will be the only one in the UK with one. I did sell one to a guy in the Netherlands, poor guy had to pay international shipping too.

 

Yeah. International shipping charges and import customs charges can get expensive.
Thank goodness for USPS!

 

Received in great condition to the UK via US Military Postal Service (USPS)! Now waiting on my mate to return from holiday so I can use his heated garage to install it. lol
Cheers Tim!

 

Surprisingly you will be the only one in the UK with one. Just could not get the guys on the UK forums interested. One in the Netherlands, one in South Africa. We will see if the Aussies need any help as we head in to their summer.