Friday, September 23, 2011

Is it safe to leave off a thermostat on a car?

My car temp. keeps rising and i have changed every hose and anti-freeze...did a radiator flush but temp. still rises....someone told me to change the intake gasket and thermostat...another friend told me leave the thermostat off and run it like dat?...is this safe?
Is it safe to leave off a thermostat on a car?
It won't kill you ,so it's safe. But it will make the motor run rich longer because of the longer time it will take to come up to operating temperature. This will carbon up the cylinders and probably throw codes. It may load up the cat converter and cause it to fail. Not the best idea.

You should get a master mechanic to diagnose the problem. It could be the electric radiator fan is not functioning as it should, or that the water pump is not working. It may be that you have a bad head gasket and that an air pocket keeps forming in the cooling system.

Changing the thermostat is the first thing I would have done.

Something is causing the problem and you had better get it fixed before you do major motor damage.
Is it safe to leave off a thermostat on a car?
no
it is safe.
yes, you can run without a thermostat, but your heater will never get hot...



I'd suggest a new thermostat rather than %26quot;no%26quot; thermostat, since they are rather inexpensive...

you may also want to check your fans, and make sure they are working properly...

finally you may need a new water pump...



as long as you don't have any big bubbles in your coolant system, and your head gaskets arent blown... you should be right as rain
Safe, yes.

Smart,no.

Your engine running hot could be a bad sensor, a plugged fuel filter, a vacuum leak, poor timing and several other things.

In short, you just need to get some things taken care of, not putting a thermostat in it may cure the symptoms but not the real problem (which can lead to an early death for the engine and car).
Since temps keep rising, suspect a blown head gasket. Is the vehicle expelling coolant when it gets hot? If so, almost certain head gasket is blown.



Running without a t-stat will not allow the engine to get up to normal operating temps and keep the engine running rich, which will reduce fuel economy.
It is not good. The piston can get hot and expand while the block stays cool and compact. That combo spells disaster.
your car will not heat just change the thermostat
It is safe, in that it isn't going to blow up or anything. However, Your defrosters and heater will not get hot, so clearing the windshield may be a problem, which is not safe.



Also the engine running hot may be the result of something else being wrong with the engine. Your engine may also run rich if you pull the thermostat, the computer will think that the engine is still cold and will throw more fuel into the cylinders which isn't good for the engine.



The best thing to do, is to have the problem corrected and to replace the thermostat with a new one. The car will perform better and you'll save gas too.



Good luck with it.
Put a new thermostat in correctly (i have seen them in up-side down)

Make sure the cooling fan works. If the car has air conditioning, it may have a fan clutch that is freewheeling. Get it replaced.

If no fan clutch make sure the cooling fans work, bad relay, bad senser will allow overheating.

Best I can do with no details to work with.
You can run it if you want to but your vehicles computer (ECM) will make the car run worse since it is removed, just replace it with the correct one in degrees and not higher or lower.
if your temp keeps rising you probably have a head gasket problem.do not run without thermostat because you will not know if you are overheating,you could do major damage with out knowing.
If the temp rises only when the vehicle is stopped, such as at stoplights or when idling parked, and if the temp goes back down after you get the car moving, then your thermosensor (sticking out near the bottom of the radiator in my Honda) has probably gone bad and is no longer telling the fan to come on when you don't have wind coming through the radiator (because you are stopped). It is a very cheap fix.



Also, a stuck thermostat will cause your problem. Also a very cheap fix.



At many auto parts stores you can buy a Haynes do-it-yourself manual for your model car, with step-by-step instructions, and basic explanations at the beginning of each chapter. If it is not in stock, you can order it online by searching on %26quot;auto repair manuals%26quot; on Yahoo search. In the front is a section on %26quot;Troubleshooting%26quot; that guides you step-by-step to find causes of most engine malfunctions based on the car's symptoms. Whether you do the work yourself or not, it helps you make informed decisions, to understand your mechanic and not be taken advantage of, and to not feel so %26quot;in the dark.%26quot;



db667089 says: you can check http://www.alldatadiy.com. For about the same price as a Haynes or Chilton's repair manual, you can have online access (for a whole year) to model specific info for your particular vehicle. This is the same info that repair shops use. They have great wiring schematics/diagrams.



Also, for about $15 for a one-month subscription, you can get the factory manual, downloadable (careful! Mine was about 500 pages!) or viewable, at http://eAutoRepair.com.
no, put a new thermostat in it and have the waterpump checked and make sure the fan is working properly.