quote:Originally posted by jwr2968:
...No offence George,but not all Cleveland thermostats look like the pics you show ...
jwr, no offense taken my FRIEND.
I am sorry that you are receiving so much confusing information. I can read the frustration in your post, I feel for you. In the case of the Cleveland motor, that simple little device, the thermostat, has been a pain in the butt since day one.
The Cleveland motor was designed with a hi-tech cooling system (for its day). It uses a high flow thermostat, oem. It also has a high flow recirc system, designed to eliminate steam or hot spots and to warm the motor up more quickly and more evenly. The recirc system is too high flow to allow it to remain in service 100% of the time, as is normal for all other V8s of the period. When coolant is recirculated, it bypasses the radiator. So much coolant is recirculated with the Cleveland that it can lead to overheating if it is allowed to recirc after the motor reaches operating temp. So Ford engineers designed a coolant system whereby the recirc system is shut off as the thermostat opens. This recirc passage below the thermostat, not present in any other motor, is what throws everybody off.
Take a good look at your t-stat, or better yet, stick it in a pot of boiling water until it "opens". When it opens, something must extend downward and close off the orifice below the t-stat. If this doesn't happen, you do not have a cleveland t-stat. Period. No argument. Regardless of who tells you differently, under any and all circumstances, they are wrong.
I worked on cleveland motors in the '70s, removed the oem Ford t-stats from many Mustangs, Cougars, Montegos and Torinos, they looked identical to the Robertshaw t-stat. In fact, I'll bet they were manufactured by Robertshaw.
your friend on the DTBB