[DeTomaso] Thermostat warning #2

[Himes, Terry (397C)]

Wow!  You guyz would make excellent JPL engineers!! Test Test Test!  Then Test again.  

"A Purple Heart proves you were smart enough to hatch a plan,
 stupid enough to try it and lucky enough to survive!"
 
Terry W. Himes 
JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Dawn Spacecraft Team
Rosetta Sequence Team Lead
Phone: (818) 393-6261
Cell:     (818) 653-8213
thimes at jpl.nasa.gov
🇺🇸
 

On 5/4/17, 2:51 PM, "DeTomaso on behalf of Mike Drew via DeTomaso" <detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com on behalf of detomaso at server.detomasolist.com> wrote:

    All,
    
    A couple of months ago I posted a warning about 351C thermostats, and parts 
    store counter monkeys who didn't know the difference between them and the 
    351W version.   I posted pictures and part numbers for the NAPA brand 
    180-degree 351C version.
    
    Well, here's a story.   That came about because I was sourcing one for a 
    fellow in England.   I sent it to him, and he thought he had developed an 
    engine/cooling problem, because the engine heated up to over 200 degrees while 
    the radiator pipes remained cold, so he shut it down.   He later 'let it 
    ride', and the thermostat opened and the radiator started cooling, but the 
    temperature was 195-200 as measured on the front of the block.
    
    He pulled the thermostat and tested it in a pot of water on the stove; it 
    didn't start opening until 195 and was fully open at 200--not 180 as 
    advertised.
    
    So the other day I went and bought another one (from the same batch, as the 
    store got two of them in when I only ordered one), and lo and behold, this 
    one also failed to start opening until 195 degrees.   Back to the store it 
    went.
    
    I then went across the street and got one from O'Reilly, the Murray (that's 
    their home brand) 3468.   (See attached).   I brought that one home and 
    stovetop tested it, and it started opening at about 184 degrees, not far off 
    from the advertised 180 degrees.   Now that one is in a box on the way to 
    England.
    
    The point is, not only do you have to make sure you are getting a proper 
    351C thermostat, you should also test it before installation to make SURE it 
    opens when it should!
    
    Cheers!
    
    Mike