Use THIS Thermostat in Your Cleveland OR ELSE!

G'day everyone! In this video I explain the importance of running a Cleveland specific thermostat in your Cleveland V8.
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Hi, I'm Marc and this is Meatball Garage! Keep up with all the tinkering and maintenance on my Hyundai i30 (Hyundai Elantra) Holden VE Calais V8 (Pontiac G8 or Chevy SS) And my 1970 Ford XW Fairmont 351 Cleveland V8.
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[@MeatballGarage]

G'day folks! Just fit your Clevo with a proper thermostat and move on with your life! In a nutshell, a Cleveland specific thermostat works with the Clevo's unique coolant bypass circuit so when it opens up, it blocks off the bypass circuit and forces all of the coolant from the block to the radiator for cooling. If you use the Windsor style T Stat - your Clevo will continue to circulate some hot coolant around the block which will impact its cooling efficiency!

[@SM-wo3qb]

Omg yes!!! I had overheating issues a while back that I diagnosed down to a dead thermostat and when I went looking around reputable performance parts shops asking for a specific cleveland thermostat so many people thought I was crazy and just tried to sell me the Windsor ones. I was adamant that the clevo should have its own style and I persisted until I found one. I am so far from being a mechanic it made my decision making process that much harder because I was sure I was right but I'd never replaced one before. And what didn't help was the dead one I pulled out was the incorrect type too!!! Thanks previous owner!!! In the end I installed the correct one and its been happy days now for the last couple years. Great video, thanks for making me feel a little but more sane, even if it's a few years later 😂 hahaha

[@kob5840]

Cheers for this vid. I as of this past week have replaced my water pump because after a 20 minite first drive of my XE, i turned off the car and 1 minute later the water started boiling out the overflow. I also was told that clevelands have a specifc thermostat that. Once i saw this video and a few others i realised that the thermostat i put in was the dayco "T" style (incorrect one) so i am onto that next. Cheers.

[@andreschondelmaier4834]

I have a switch i turn on in traffic for fans , otherwise cruising keeps cool 😊, oh yeah hooning also stays cool 😎. Fan are only used when you are not moving or moving slow .

[@MeatballGarage]

Ahh I love the override switch for the thermos, simple but it gives you that extra bit of control! Haha hooning keeps it cool eh? Might have to test that out haha! Cheers Andrew for watching and the comment mate!

[@VintageVoltage351]

Yes, the Robert Shaw Track Boss thermostat for the win. BUT, if the engine has been rebuilt and the brass restrictor to be refitted, do NOT drive it down all the way home as there will most likely be a gap when fully opened. Get verniers, measure the thermostat fully opened in a pot of boiling water then you can measure how far to actually drive the restrictor plate. Mine has 1-2mm gap but it doesn't get hot, always hovers at half on the gauge. Easy check, radiator cap off and engine at operating temp, watch for coolant flow when revving the engine. Low or no flow at the radiator will be that problem or a blockage somewhere. Dayco is crap, mine stuck shut at 1000 miles, and my spare brand new Dayco when I tested it with the Track Boss opens fully with a gap to the restrictor of about 6-7mm, that's probably the reason why everyone just accepts that all street Clevo's run hot.

[@lukedinardo]

I dont own a Ford but great video anyway, i learned something new today.

[@MeatballGarage]

G'day Luke - cheers mate! You never know when this might be useful, you might end up with a Clevo one day too! Thanks for watching!

[@rogerveal1336]

I used 180 as the science says less engine wear at the higher temperature. Run an XD triple flow radiator with thermo fans from EL with digital controller and doesn't go over 180.

[@timh6977]

Good content mate. Changing my 351c powered XC ute from engine fan, stock radiator at the moment. Driving around in 35 plus weather is impossible to keep it cool especially at the lights. Also sucks dust all through the engine bay. Got a 55mm PWR rad and a twin 12" spal unit for it. And yes got a track boss t stat as well worth the $100 dongas!!

[@MeatballGarage]

G'day Tim! Cheers mate! Nice mate - keen to hear if those changes make a difference. Those PWR Radiators look the business so you should be cool as a cucumber in no time! What temp T Stat did you end up using? Also what temps are you going to set up your fans to turn on and off at? Cheers!!

[@timh6977]

Got A 180f (82c) thermostat. Was thinking of 90c for the fan closest to the top hose then 95c for the second fan. Using a Davies Craig 0500 fan controller. Has an audible alarm also for overheating. Also a manual overide/ac switch. Good unit comes with all wiring, relays fuses etc.

[@kimnurmi8519]

Nice vid mate i concur or at at least i do until i try the restrictor plate myself. Rebuilding my stroked clevo now which i have been dealing with overheating for many years with different fan, water pump combos until i put on a 16" spal pusher fan coupled with a mechanical engine fan. This combo JUST keeps it driveable up to around 30-35C. FFS i cant believe i didnt find out I was missing the plate till now! It makes total sense, fingers crossed it works for me. So did the factory have a plate in there?

[@MeatballGarage]

G'day Kim! Mate - Get that plate in there and run a proper Clevo thermostat and watch your life change!! (hopefully anyways..) Yeah from all the research I have done over the years is that restrictor plate was standard in all of these clevos which worked in conjunction with that specific thermostat. Hopefully mate that is all that it takes to get your clevo temps under control! Are you running a 393/408? What is it in mate? Thank for watching and good luck!!

[@ianjury3891]

Hey mate ,finally got round to changing thermostat to the Clevo as you recommended. Also fitted new temp sensor to block .all good ,now the dash gauge worked when car got to running temp ,so typed up coolant and put cap on radiator, now temp gauge comes up a bit then decides it needs a rest and not work , but will then start to come up then go down again m. Do you use dash gauge or can u recommend an aftermarket one at all . Thanks again for that video 👍

[@MeatballGarage]

G'day Ian! Ahh bugger - I bloody hate dash gremlins. What temp gauge are you using? (GT style, factory style) Where is the sender located in the block and is it the correct sender? In my factory dash - i think i had an incorrect sender as the gauge was really happy - and fluctuated between 1/4 and 3/4 when the fan would go on and off! I use the GT style gauge and it behaves reasonably accurately to what my old mechanical one did. If you can get a cheapo mechanical gauge in just to verify what the car runs at at idle/cruise etc. that would be the way to go. As long as you get something with numbers that are easy to read and in the temp range of the clevo you should be sweet. If all is well, from there you can start to trouble shoot the factory gauges issues.....or do what i want to do and give it to an auto elec to figure it out 😁 Cheers mate and let us know how you go!

[@TyphoonVstrom]

Had no issues for many years running "normal" thermostats in a 351C in an F100 and in a 400M in a 72 Galaxie, both did a LOT of towing and both had been mildy upgraded. Never had the slightest problem with overheating. There was never any "special" thermostat offered for these engines from any of the aftermarket (or even factory) in Australia, even when the cars they were fitted to were new. If it was in any way critical, there would be warped and burnt up Clevelends everywhere- there were not. There wasn't any mention in any of the performance literature back in the day regarding the need for these thermostats either. Any standard bypass type thermostat works just fine in a 335 series engine. Pay attention to normal cooling system maintenence and they are just like any other Ford V8. They are not special or magical engines, never have been, never will be. And they definitely should not run hot.