jjstandardz

Do i need to find a factory remanufactured rack and pinion or do you guys think one like this would work fine from NAPA?

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...238_0249240235

Also i went to ford to buy a thermostat for my car and i told them i wanted a 180 Degree but they couldnt figure out how to find it for some reason

do you guys know a part number for this or where else i could find one?

i suppose i could always just leave my stock one in there but its been 134k miles and im assuming its never been changed, and im gonna be in there anyway to replace the gasket

thanks!

SXGT

you can get a thermostat from auto zone for like 12$

jjstandardz

Oh the parts store thermostats are ok to use? Wasnt sure if I should stick with motorcraft or not

cliffyk

I would not hesitate to install a re-manufactured rack from NAPA, they have a class act.

A company named Stant make 99.44% of the thermostats used by American, and many foreign, automakers--they are also stocked by most FLAPS...

180°F is quite a cool thermostat (the stock unit opens at 200°F) for use in North Dakota, what is it you seek to gain by installing it?

I run one year round here in Florida, with a number of changes to the tune to accommodate the lower operating temperature, but in the winter in ND the engine will take a long time to get up to temperature, and likely run too cold when the outside temp is as low as it can get up there.

Derf00

Yep, Napa is topnotch. Find out if it's a napa rebuilt rack or an A1 Cardone rebuilt rack relabled for Napa. The reason is A1 Cardone is hit-or-miss.

jjstandardz

I guess i really wasnt looking to gain anything, i just figured i would replace the thermostat since im going to have it open, and i have been reading about how a lot of people go with a cooler thermostat. I also still have the old one which seems to be in good condition, but i have no idea how old it was

hmmm ok well usually i let it warm up pretty good before i drive it in winter. I already purchased the new 180, do you think i should return it for a stock one? or will it be okay?

also ford told me the thermostat gasket was leaking, but when i took it off it looked pretty good. The only thing i noticed was that the old o-ring was a little flattened from being around the thermostat, but it was sealed pretty good, do you think it could be leaking some other way? The plastic intake was cracked underneath the thermostat so maybe that is what they were seeing and just assumed it was the thermostat gasket.

ok thanks for the reply! ill be sure to ask them who rebuilt it. Do you guys know of any guides to installing a new rack and pinion? i have the factory service manual but it doesnt seem to say much about removal/installaton

cliffyk

I would not use a 180° thermostat unless you have some very specific reasons for doing so. In my case I wanted to run the engine cooler so as to gain a bit of an edge here in Florida by allowing a bit more aggressive spark advance; and altered the tune as needed to accommodate the cooler operation (fan settings, and other ECT related scalars, tables and functions).

There is nothing to be gained, and a number of things to be lost, by just dropping in a 180° t-stat,,,

Stevo86

The flat spot on your o-ring is where it is bad. It should be round all around. If it didn't leak before it will now, just get a new one.

SXGT

you need to let your car heat up OP. I can see you using a 180 for June - August but you need to hit 200F so the computer wont think something is wrong. I think it may run in open loop. someon else can confirm that

jjstandardz

yeah you guys are right im gonna take the 180 back and get a stock temp one

it sometimes gets -40 here in winter so im sure im better off just having the stock one in there

also i think my factory service manual says that the o-ring is just supposed to sit on top of the thermostat?

when i pulled the other one off it was wedged halfway down between the wall and the thermostat