Different Thermostats

[chucky07]

Just want to be sure I have the correct type of thermostat for my housing.

When I took the engine apart it had the 3 piece thermostat the one with the brass housing, and rubber gasket on top. The one I just purchased from local parts house looks different.

According to the Stant Website My 52 with a 218 engine should take a 13478

which is a 180 deg. thermostat. While this thermostat seems to fit in the housing ok, it looks much different than the original one.

Can anyone clear up the difference between the two and tell me if this new one will work.

I am very worried about overheating my engine as this was the main reason I had it rebuild (overheating).

While reading through my manual there are a couple of references as to the old type of thermostat having a opening on top as to let water flow continuously, but not sure I understand ..and not sure if new one will work.

By the way I do not have a heater hooked up and the plug on the thermostat housing will remain plugged for now..not sure if this makes a difference or not...

Thank You

[Young Ed]

What style thermostat housing are you using on the new engine? If its the cast iron one that held the 3 piece thermostat I would get that type again. However that is not the correct thermostat housing and thermostat for a 52 engine.

[chucky07]

Here is the thermostat housing that was on it when I got it..Seems to be cast iron.

Can you post a pic of the housing i'm suppose to have please? thank you

[Young Ed]

Here is a 51 engine

[chucky07]

Well I have a 52 B3B. Are you sure the 52's aren't cast iron like mine?

I've seen quite a few pic's of 52's with cast iron like mine. I just want to make sure i'm not running a housing that will cause my new engine to overheat.

Thanks

[Young Ed]

Plymouths switched for sure in 51. I suppose trucks could have been behind the times.

[Merle Coggins]

It's strange. My '50 has the newer style thermostat housing with internal bypass. And the '50 parts trudk that I have has the same setup. However, I too have seen later model engines with the earlier external bypass thermostat.

Ed, that engine that you got from me is a '51 or '52 truck engine and it has the external bypass thermostat.

Merle

[Young Ed]

Very strange. I haven't really done anything with that 51-52 engine. I did just score some nice really heavy duty castors off a cart someone was throwing out. So it should become mobile.

[chucky07]

Well after much debate I went to the Stant Website and figured out my thermostat question. In 1952 dodge made both type's of housing and the type is determined by truck serial number. Up to a certain number took the cast iron 3 piece thermostat with a rubber seal and over a certain serial nujber took the regular on piece type.

The website even has pictures of the different thermostats..different temp. ranges avail. and years and models they fit. You have to register on their site to access the PDF catalogs but only takes a minute and it's free.

Thanks for all your input and now I can put another piece back on knowing it's the right part.

[P-12 Tommy]

On my P-12 I have the external bypass. How many choices do I have in thermostats? When I took the housing off there was nothing in there but a rubber gasket. The PO took the old thermo out he obviously didn't put one back in. Now I need one.

Tom

[Young Ed]

This one is available at napa in either 160° or 180° versions. I run the 160 version in my coupe. I didn't know about this item when I built my truck and honestly have no idea what is in there.

[P-12 Tommy]

Ed, What's the number on the NAPA thermo? Duh, I just realized I'm on the truck side. Sorry

Tom

[Young Ed]

Thats ok trucks used them too. THM 155 for 180 and THM 55 for 160. Shows $8.09 at napaonline

[P-12 Tommy]

Thanks Ed

Tom

[grey beard]

IMHO no one should have a 160 degree thermostat in their engine today. That nomenclature is an anachronism from way back in the day when dinasours roamed and antifreeze was alcohol-based, and has absolutely NO place in any engine today. Get a 180 or higher thermostat and get it installed yesterday. Your engine will warm up more quickly and to a little higher block temperature and your engine block and oil will stay much cleaner.

Remember, these old flatties are very heavy cast iron blocks - several hunnert pounds leavi4er than them belly-button v-8's - and they take a long time to really get the oil up to operating temperature. Until that happens and condensation starts to evaporate, sludge just keeps forming, no matter what your dash temperature gauge sez.

Wish we all had temp gauges hooked to the oil pan sump. Now that'd be an education for a lot of guys here on this forum . . . .

[Dodgeb4ya]

Hilly country and high speeds I'd only run a 160' thermostat-saves on doing early valve jobs too. You also won't be watching the temp guage so much in the summer months. Also make sure the cooling system is in top shape.

Bob

[Jim Gaspard]

Like Young Ed and Merle Coggins, I have an internal bypass water pump on my B3B. For some time I have been stumped why the thermostat in my parts bin would not fit my housing, then I remembered in the early stages of my restoration I ordered a thermostat from Bernbaum. I think they sent me an external bypass thermostat shown here? Merle mentioned today the same thing happened to him. Can someone provide a definitive part number for the internal thermostat for B3 1951-53 engines? There is discussion and photos (I think in this thread), but no-one mentions a part number. Thanks

My engine has been sitting idle for last three years while I work on frame and body

My spare housing and the ill fitting thermostat

[Jim Gaspard]

Thanks, answered my own question. I took the advice of Chucky below and went to the Stant website. They have specific T-stats for the B3B after engine number 113721560 which I assume are internal bypass type.

All STANT Brand

Premium type = Under $17.00

#45478 (180 deg)

#45479 (195 deg)

Reg type = Under $15.00

#13478 (180 deg)

#13479 (195 deg)

#13476 (160 deg)

Economy = Under $15.00

#13078 (180 deg)

#13079 (195 deg)

#13076 (160 deg)

T-gasket = $12.50

#25140

[Young Ed]

Jim I think no one mentions part numbers for the internal bypass because its such a common part. My 94 dakota uses the same one. For that time span there are basically 2 thermostats. Big and little. Couple heat ranges mixed it but its not hard to get one at any parts place.

[Jim Gaspard]

Thanks. As a novice among experts I have a lot to learn. I had not crossed the T-stat issue yet and past threads sounded like there was still confusion between the two types. At least there is now a posted part reference number for the internal bypass. I'm one step further to the day I'll be back on the road. Thanks again.

[MBF]

I'm w Graybeard on this. I noticed a big difference in oil cleanliness when I added the PCV system to my flatty. She's going back together with a 180 instead of a 160. With the 160 she'd run at a max of about 170 in the summer going to shows. I want to keep the sludge out of that engine. Mike

[HanksB3B]

Can you share a little more about your PCV system. Where you bought it or did you fabricate it yourself. I'm not sure I totally understamd how it's hooked up and what are the pros and cons to installing one. When I first got my truck I remember pulling handfulls of sludge from behind the valve covers. Does't that problem go away with synthetic/detergent oils? Does 160 vs. 180 really make that much of difference is this a theory or a fact?

Thanks.

Hank

Edited March 4, 2010 by HanksB3B

[MBF]

Hanks-what I did was remove the road tube, and install a capped fixture with a nipple in its place. For the last couple of years I ran a hose from the nipple to a vacuum port on the intake manifold through a PCV valve. What I did last summer, was to route the hose to the air filter housing-I was concerned about my design making the engine run to lean as the PCV system is basically a controlled vacuum leak. I agree w GB on the thermostat being a 180, but after just completing a valve job, I want to see where she runs-I don't want to cause the truck to run so hot in the summer, that I'm doing a valve job again in a couple of years. In theory, the 180 thermostat causes the engine to run hotter which would enable the moisture in the crankcase to vaporize more fully and be disposed of through the PCV system. I don't think the newer oils will help much in getting rid of existing sludge, but I believe that if the engine oil is up to temp, and the road tube or PCV system working properly they will prevent or slow buildup. I'll let you know after I drop my pan and run the truck for awhile. Mike

[HanksB3B]

When I first got my truck, someone had installed what I'm guessing was a homemade PCV System. Not really knowing what it was (other than not stock) and due to the fact that on my first test drive in 1979 the girl on the bus stop was left in a black cloud of smoke and has never been found, also the car wash manager ("Hey what the F* you doing?") still remembers me taking glob after glob of sludge out from behind my valve covers, I decided that the PCV system must have been responsible for re-introducing dirty blow-off air into the engine causing the sludge in the first place. I'm finding that I have to revisit the idea of a PCV system from an educated standpoint...but I'm not there yet. Some detailed photos may help too.

Thanks,

Hank