modified or no thermostate in gen 2 lightning

[kellyoc]

hey guys been playing with the cooling system on my lightning before I ask my question let me give you a little info on the truck. it has single blade throttle body C&L upper plenum and a AEM CAI. stock pulleys and I have also re-tuned the truck with a diablo tuner and chose the 93 octane tune. I also have LFP mega tank and I removed the stock fan and installed a cobra electric fan. now my question is I only drive the truck in the summer months I live in Michigan so 90 degree days are common. id like to know if any of you run your trucks with no thermostat or back in the day a lot of guys would remove the center of a stock thermostat to have it open all the time but still offer a small amount of restriction to slow water flow down and allow radiator time to pull heat out of coolant. anyone doing this? any issues or reason why it cant be done?

 

[Dusten]

Why would you? Engines require a certain temperature for optimum burn rate. Lightnings are not known for cooling issues. Before you waste time and money on useless mods, I'd research some of your existing mods and go a better route

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

I wouldnt do either of those. A cooler thermostat with lower fan turn on temp - possibly.

if youre saying you put a single oem fan for a cobra on there Id be concerned about that being enough I think. Id hook something up to show your actual coolant temps (via the obd2 port is easiest) before deciding what, if anything needs to be done

 

[kellyoc]

well to reply to both of you that replied to my post. firstly thank you for your feedback and taking the time to reply. as to why? the question is why not? the engine bays on a lightning are basically non existent no room to work on anything. removing that big heavy ugly clutch fan opens up the entire front of the motor it looks better and makes working on other things much easier not to mention there is a performance gain lol small but it is there. also I installed a cobra water pump that is a upgrade from our truck water pump and it does not have the provision to re-install a fan. I have pulled data from the truck while driving and with my current set-up and a modified thermostat I'm in the low 180's after aggressive driving so temp wise I'm fine. the main reason for my post was I was wondering if anyone has experienced cavitation or air build up or pockets in the motor because of the increased water flow. basically does a mod motor need any kind of restriction to keep the waterpump working properly?

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

I agree whole heartedly with getting hat clutch fan out of the way I was just concerned about that Dan possibly being too small.

I'm not aware of any need for restriction, I've seen Others post concerns about damaging the heater core and such but no incidents to back it up

 

[Robert Francis]

I've bought an 01 L new in June and installed the JDM electric fan setup, a 170 degree Stant thermostat and the so called Cobra "R" water pump in about 2002, and have never had any over heating issues.

From what I read in the past, back in the early 2000's, the Cobra pump does not flow more water, even with right impeller, than the stock 5.4 water pump. It's just lighter in weight.