thermostat question

[jpliddy]

hi all
i have been reading here the remarks about ideal thermostat temperature !
im sure mine is 87 degrees fitted by me few years ago .
volvo genuine part what ever make that is .
ive read you recommend a 80 degree thermostat .
do i need to change mine ?
i do not drive the car under great stress except a foot down now and then to
clear the black soot then its only just over 3000RPM
the engine done 276000miles now so i want to give it the best chance of a long
life .

[ngoma]

My Opinion: If you are not experiencing overheating under all your driving conditions, no need to change from the 87d to a 80d t-stat. If you are experiencing overheating, then changing to 80d can help keep it under control.

But First: You need to get your temperature gauge working, otherwise how will you know whether it's overheating or not?

[jpliddy]

thanks NGOMA
i still cant fix tempreture gauge myself . i have the spare 960 resievoir bottle
and a old float sensor but the tempreture sensor at the front of engine don't know if that works or not .one day before its to late need to get a auto electrian
who's interested to find the fault . i could buy a new engine temperature sensor
and take of alternator when belts are next due for change .
in normal conditions here the bottom hose is cooler than the top hose for sure !

[ngoma]

My advice to you: Get the temperature gauge fixed sooner rather than later! Engine overheat is a known contributor to early death of these engines. Why risk it?

[jpliddy]

Originally Posted by ngoma

My advice to you: Get the temperature gauge fixed sooner rather than later! Engine overheat is a known contributor to early death of these engines. Why risk it?

hi all
on our bank holiday here i had the afternoon swopping resivor to one with a float then fitting coolant señor and using the 2 wires from the low washer fluid and connecting them to the coolant sensor probe . what happens now is when the coolant is near the minimum mark on reservoir the low washer fluid light comes on tried it a few times and it works . but i do need to tidy things up with some heat shrink crimps im told are good .

[ngoma]

That is excellent! Hopefully you will not encounter catastrophic coolant loss but if it happens the light will warn you in enough time to take appropriate measures.

[DieselScout]

I've played around with both the 80c and 87c thermostats with my '82 D24 NA.
I have not noticed any real difference between the two in regards to oil temperature and fuel economy during my daily driving (Not scientific, just eyeing my gauges while driving, etc...)

Personally, I've stuck with the 80c thermostat because it gives an additional buffer in case things decide to get hot (such as going up Mountains)

Can anyone else testify to the real world differences between the two thermostats for daily driving?