Help!!!

[project232]

today , my car overheated and i think that the fan isnt kicking in.. so my question is does anyone know how the fan is kicked on and off? does the computer control the power or the ground side of the fan? im going to just straight wire it to the battery and use a toggle switch to control the fan..but i want to allow the computer to also control the fan . so could i just splice the wires and tie in a toggle switch?

[lowflyn]

If you are gonna run a toggle switch, you might as well just run it only off the toggle.

[project232]

also while i was at it i decided to change the thermostat out to a 180 degree one..but now that i have finished i decided to read around on the internet about using the 180 thermostat and i have seen people say that the "spring" end of the thermostat is suppose to face outward into the housing/hose!? i went to college for automotive training and could almost swear that the "spring" end of the thermostat is suppose to face inward toward the engine...so which way was i suppose to install the thermostat?

[lowflyn]

That one...I can't help you with. Maybe someone with knowledge will chime in. I asked my roommate and he didn't know.

[TNT Bomb]

Who, by the hell, can say such a st*%$#d thing ?

I drive car since 1968 and I did all small mechanic jobs on each car that I got, I changed thermostat lot of time and you're totally right, the spring will react to the heat of water in the engine and as the temperarure will rise the "strenght" of spring will decrease and the thermostat will gradually open letting hot water exit from engine and be replaced by the water coming from the radiator wich is definitly cooler...

If you do the reverse (spring on the radiator side), it will never open because water on the radiator side will never come hot enough to "soften" the spring and open the thermostat...The best way to blow head gaskets.

You can do a test; Put water in a can enough to cover at least the 3/4 of the spring height put the thermostat upright with spring in water and put the can on the kitchen range and as the temperature will reach the boiling point you will see your 180 degrees thermostat will gradually open...Let the thermostat cool and put it the other way (suspending thermostat with a fork or anything else such a way that the spring will never be in contact with the boiling water...It will never open...The spring has to be in the hotter side to work correctly...

Spring on engine side ! That's the way it should be...unless Ford made a revolutionnary in cooling system...

IT CONFIRMS THAT YOU'RE RIGHT !

I'm willing that "the sky fall on my head" (french expression) if I'm wrong...

You said that you changed your thermostat, Just by curiosity what was the temperature setting for that thermostat ?

[97Stallion]

Quote: Originally Posted by TNT Bomb I drive car since 1968 and I did all small mechanic jobs on each car that I got, I changed thermostat lot of time and you're totally right, the spring will react to the heat of water in the engine and as the temperarure will rise the "strenght" of spring will decrease and the thermostat will gradually open letting hot water exit from engine and be replaced by the water coming from the radiator wich is definitly cooler... If you do the reverse (spring on the radiator side), it will never open because water on the radiator side will never come hot enough to "soften" the spring and open the thermostat...The best way to blow head gaskets. You can do a test; Put water in a can enough to cover at least the 3/4 of the spring height and put the can on the kitchen range and as the temperature will reach the boiling point you will see your 180 degrees thermostat will gradually open...Let the thermostat cool and put it the other way (suspending thermostat with a fork or anything else such a way that the spring will never be in contact with the boiling water...It will never open...The spring has to be in the hotter side to work correctly... Spring on engine side ! That's the way it should be...unless Ford made a revolutionnary in cooling system... IT CONFIRMS THAT YOU'RE RIGHT ! I'm willing that "the sky fall on my head" (french expression) if I'm wrong...

Right on, yes the spring side goes toward the engine. If you put the thermostat in the water neck, you should see the spring, and as you put the neck onto the engine, it should then disappear inside the manifold.

[project232]

i thought i was right!! i was making sure that i hadnt lost my mind and have been doing them all wrong , lol

i replaced the factory thermostat with a 180 degree one.