Thermostat & Cooling System
 

I'm thinking about throwing a RobertShaw Hi-Flow Thermostat (from Stewart's website) into my stock 90 GT, along with a Stewart water pump, a stock replacement fan from 50resto.com, and a 3 row radiator from RadiatorBarn.com. Will there be any differences between this thermostat and just a regular one you would find at a local parts shop? Is a 195 degree thermostat correct for this car? Also, whats the average life of a thermostat and radiator hoses used in a daily driver? (I've asked a million people this and have never once gotten the same answer, except "When hoses crack and thermostat sticks")

There is no average life for hoses, belts and stuff like that. it would depend on how well you take care of things by flushing and putting in new coolant 10-20% right Chris?? Flush it out once a year and will last longer than one that hasn't had any care but you realy can't put a number on how long. belt are easy to check just turn around and see if there are cracks in between the grooves. only way with a thermostat is when it sticks open or closed, but i'd imagine iof you keep your cooling system clean it will last longer than one that hasn't

i bought a "balanced" thermostat (made by mr. gasket) and i didnt notice any difference in the temp of the car staying more steady at all. i think all thermostats are created equal

I agree. unless you got a real race car, I think they are all basically the same.......any other ideas? Since my car is a daily driver, I was thinking that the RobertShaw thermostat from Stewards might actually make my car take longer to warm up, since it has holes and is never 100% "closed" according to

http://www.stewartcomponents.com/htm...t/techtip3.asp

"Stewart further modifies its thermostat by machining three 3/16" bypass holes directly in the poppet valve, which allows some coolant to bypass the thermostat even when closed. This modification does result in the engine taking slightly longer to reach operating temperature in cold weather, but it allows the thermostat to function properly when using a high flow water pump at high engine RPM."

Ive been drilling bypass holes in my stats for years. Before that I would put a piece of copper wire in, to hold it open untill the air bled out of the system.

I do agree stats are creatated equal. Except the ones that fail open.