SS 396 thermostat trick!

[@wahiawabound808]

Great 👍🏽 my mom's boyfriend raced sprint cars along with pro mods back in the days and he taught me a few old school tricks it came in handy while I was build a couple toyota mud trucks he showed me bending the float in the carburator helped when hill climbing and he also showed me how to do the syntrifical timing with the distributor another one was port matching the headers using a soda can and a dremal he explained there was no such thing as a dremal back in the days so a file was perfect lol in my book whatever works and I'm like 3 generations behind.

[@paulthompson8480]

Factory fitted to some GM cars typical came with a jiggle valve [allowed 1 way coolant flow ,also allowed air to bleed out ]. Some aftermarket units come with some without

[@mannylopez3922]

From México I say hi and that trick on the thermostat really helped a lot on my chevy 350 thank you very much for sharing.

[@rivervalleyray]

I found your channel and when I saw your cool cars I subscribed. I have owned Chevelles pretty much for the last 35 years. I like your 68 el camino and the big block just makes it sweeter. Keep up the good work and look forward to more on this el camino.👍✌

[@ordinaryguygarage3667]

rivervalleyray awesome! Thanks for the support!

[@charlesgraham9954]

funny story, my grandfather had this old truck with a 454 in it that overheated all the time, he went down to the local salvage yard and got him another radiator with a electric fan out of a 4 cylinder car and put it on his truck, yes, he had TWO radiators on this truck, the original and the smaller one off to the side. never overheated again.. lol

[@bigblockkings1031]

I was thinking about doing that too! 🤔

[@charlesnorris2993]

yup this helps, the chevy 400 is another ppl should do this on as well, heck if live in a really hot area and heater is not a super thing, drill 2 of these holes 180 degree's on the other side, helps even more with those air pockets, but also add's a teeny bit more flow. just a tid bit of my thoughts, great video, i miss my ol 69 ss 396.

[@charlesnoel9081]

The way I had it explained to me was that by putting the small hole in the thermostat, I have always drilled a 1/16" but you be you, it would allow just enough water through to report the cylinder head temp to the thermostat. This small amount can all but eliminate detonation do to hot spots in the heads.

[@jakefriesenjake]

I drill them so when you fill it up through the rad cap it fills up the rad, then the lower hose, then up through the block, pushing air up to the highest spot. If the t-stat was closed, it would just take more time to fill. If you drill it, there is no need to burp it. Just jack the car up a bit in the front, fill it to, wait a second, fill some more. Put the rad cap back on, go for a test drive, let it cool, and then top it up a cup or so.

[@azi69s]

Cheers for the helpful video mate. Sending a thumbs up 👍 from Australia

[@meldemanuel4231]

Thank you so much my problem solved no more over freezing and overheating I didn’t need to bleed my coolant thank you

[@polishbanjodad]

Nice tip with the hole in the thermostat

[@returningtoearthtv8836]

Thanks for the wisdom. Cool trick. Gonna try it on my 22re.

[@DadbrosGarage]

I am a huge fan of Summit myself.. they've spoiled me

[@jefferysteffens8475]

Nothing better than having a real old school Big Block Chevy………..😜👍👍👍

[@MrRVRclubprez]

If you fill your coolant system up to the thermostat, before installing, you avoid needing this mod, and a much smaller hole would easily suffice.

[@scackley]

Interesting thought... but this will do nothing to help with vapor lock from air in the line. The design of the thermostat housing by default creates the ability of an air pocket. When you replace everything correctly and you fill the system (while not being in a rush) and then run the engine with the radiator cap off, this removes the air (if there is any) from the system. If you are that paranoid you can get the vacuum kit for the radiator and then be worry free. Just a side note; if your metal is clean and level, you do not need any silicone to seal your gasket

[@Altonivel93]

But not in this case this is a race engine not an everyday nissan versa this helps out people who drive cars hard

[@angyed01]

Thank u for that modifying sir

[@waqarsyed6641]

Thanks for the tip dude AWESOME

[@ordinaryguygarage3667]

Glad I could help! Thanks for watching!

[@paulbivins]

Now I have to pull my thermostat housing off and check my thermostat for this hole.

[@ordinaryguygarage3667]

Paul Bivins it works!

[@jacoblami1731]

To prevent leaks while also making sure the RTV doesn't look like crap you're better off using a good amount and then cutting the excess off with a razor blade before it dries. I'm a bit particular too but those files just seem to make things worse unless they're perfectly true and you're filing with a robot arm or something.

[@JUKE179r]

Cheers from England!

[@georgealmeida7382]

(1) air bubbles are a sign of blown head gasket or cracked cylinder if they are persistent. (2)o ring fitted chrome water necks are cheap and you can take them off and on without any extra messing with gasket replacement scraping or filing surfaces.. (3) silicone is for rookies...

[@davidkeeton6716]

And they usually warp rather quickly. Most are junk. The high dollar ones are the best if you have to go with an aluminum housing.

[@Legacy4x4andOffRoadYT]

hey scott! thanks for the tips! great channel!

[@ordinaryguygarage3667]

Legacy 4x4 and Off-Road thanks for the support!

[@Legacy4x4andOffRoadYT]

@@ordinaryguygarage3667 of course!

[@nursecuenca]

When I ground wire from temp gauge it only pegs 1/4. Do you think it's an issue with thermostat? It's a chevy 350 small block with mild cam

[@terrybailey2552]

Do you take questions?

[@gasratzcustoms]

Good tech tips!!!

[@patrickivers5625]

Do I need sensor on water pump on takeuchi tb 125

[@patrickivers5625]

.

[@Gozlin1]

Thank you

[@irishlad7458]

Does this help in cold weather to keep warm water in rad so stat doesn't shut too quick

[@lindaleehulsey3167]

👋 QUESTION?? My. Thermostat gasket used little silicone. Little hole at top. Fail safe. Used silicone on water pump gasket, Little thicker. Sanded areas that seamed uneven. Very clean. Cleaned up OLD PUMP, easy spin synchronized turning, 👌 1977 toyota pick up 20R O'Reilly's & AutoZone said use GREEN ANTIFREEZE put 2 1/2 gallons in radiator. Cuz the heat in VEGAS turns PRESTONE YELLOW to sand. 🤔 😮 I have always put water from the hose at ⛽ stations in my radiator. Put ANTIFREEZE in reservoir. UR opinion? 🤔 💋😘

[@ordinaryguygarage3667]

I’d use the green anti freeze/ coolant

[@lindaleehulsey3167]

@@ordinaryguygarage3667 😊 👍

[@lindaleehulsey3167]

Did you put thermostat in with hole at top? O 'Reilly's & Autozone said no sealant, just dab grease to keep gasket in place? HELP? 👍 your 📹 Also told me same with water pump gasket HELP. Waiting for gasket till next week WED. 7/20/22 in Salt Lake City.

[@ordinaryguygarage3667]

I use silicone on all the gaskets, don’t need much and to me it’s a bit of extra insurance.

[@lindaleehulsey3167]

@@ordinaryguygarage3667 thank 😊🙏 in your 📹 it looked like you applied the silicone on the underside only, then put thermostat in, was the little hole at top.

[@ordinaryguygarage3667]

@@lindaleehulsey3167 are you referring to the 1/8th inch hole I drilled? If you’re installs vertical like a ford, then I’d put the hole to the top

[@lindaleehulsey3167]

Fail safe thermostat has hole for toyota 77 truck. Yes, you drilled one. This one has a little movable pop up top.

[@ordinaryguygarage3667]

@@lindaleehulsey3167 the side with the spring should go tword the motor and the pointed/ domed side tword the radiator…

[@mike-bj4dk]

ive had problems with thise sticky gaskets i install mine like you do lol. but use the blue felpro much better with a small layer of rtv on both sides

[@mike-bj4dk]

i did that once on them sticky kinda and i guess the rtv didnt set or i was too inpatient either way never again i use fel pro blue

[@mike-bj4dk]

but great video and i also drill a small hole in mine seems to work better on my 89 chevy

[@jeffreybilbrey5466]

I've heard about this before thanks for the video. I'm gonna try it on my 2001 camaro it runs about 205 degrees. With a clean radiator and a 160 degree thermostat.

[@justinlassiter7671]

before doing that, what is the design temperature for the engine? higher temps are more efficient

[@jakefriesenjake]

The hole trick is just to burp it while doing the first fill up. Once she's hot, the air will go to the rad. Top it up again. It just makes it easier to fill the engine and rad the first time.

[@jonveneracion1773]

how big is 8inch?

[@ordinaryguygarage3667]

1/8th inch

[@jonveneracion1773]

@@ordinaryguygarage3667 i just bought 160 thermostat for my mustang 289 v8 1966. brand new radiator aluminum 3row. temp, stay low when i’m running. traffic temp going up. so if i change that 160 and put hole in thermostat. temp will stay low?

[@ordinaryguygarage3667]

@@jonveneracion1773 you should probably be running a 180 thermostat. It sounds backwards but, a higher temperature thermostat will help keep the temp cool. do you have a electric fan or manual fan? how much space is between the radiator and fan?

[@jonveneracion1773]

@@ordinaryguygarage3667 sorry i have 180 right now. i just bought 160 that i haven’t stalled yet.

[@jonveneracion1773]

so if i put 160 and put hole temp should stay low even in a traffic?

[@irishlad7458]

Ordinary guy wow ur garage imagine if this guy had a business garage🤣

[@saltpepper1894]

dont use a file on that unless you take precautions to keep filings out of engine

[@ordinaryguygarage3667]

Great advice!

[@tonyinfinity]

What's the point of even running a thermostat? Are you really going to drive a 396 in the winter? lol

[@maniacalmonster2293]

Sooooo... You didn't show the trick 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@joesmith306]

Are you hi on something.

[@mattwoody1089]

Get a new camera dude