302 Ford Coolant Temps-need help

[John C in PA]

Guys, my '92 302 HO Ford runs 125-130 degrees normally, 135 degrees after a hard run before returning to normal. I should be able to make more HP by increasing the water temp to, say 160-180 degrees. I surfed the net this Winter and I cant find a thermostat rated above 140 degrees that is 1.5" diameter. I did find this http://www.summitracing.com/parts/krc-1027/overview/). Do you think restricting the water flow using this device would increase the temperature? Other ideas?

Here's a pic of the t-stat I removed 2 years ago. It's only 1.5" diameter so it isn't interchangeable with car t-stats.
photo.JPG

Thx guys, John C

[jl1962]

OK-
I'm not an engine guy, but my 302 (w/ external fresh water pick up) always runs cool - it's Lake George - brrrrrrr.
My engine guys say cool is fine. Isn't oil temp a better indicator? Apologies in advance (and arrears) for general engine know-nothingness.....

[gcarter]

I know you don't have a lot of options in a 16. That's an awfully tight engine compartment.
My stock answer to anyone that has cold running problems in a raw water cooled engine is to add a closed system, but that'd be difficult, so maybe a oil thermostat might be a good partial solution. Someone on OSO had a couple in "The Swap Shop" for sale a short time ago. They didn't seem to be selling quickly.

[John C in PA]

Oil temp will tell me if the motor is getting too hot, but so does my water temp guage. I'm looking to increase the water temp thru the heads and block. Besides, my oil pan takes 8 qts to reach "full" on the dipstick so I don't think 200 HP is going to heat it up too much.

As a side note, last year I installed an oil temp guage by placing a "T" into the pipe that runs into the block where the oil press sender fits. Although I ran the motor on the hose for awhile, the guage never got off the peg. Yes, I checked it in a pot of hot water. If I ever have to pull the motor I'll have a fitting welded into the pan (since I still like the idea of knowing oil temp).

John C

[gcarter]

Someone, or several someones, here know more details about running
raw water cooled engines than I do. But I seem to remember a
somewhat critical "do-not-exceed-temp" of 140*, or so, to discourage
excessive scaling in the water jackets.
I suppose you could raise the temp a little bit w/a t-stat change, but
maybe not as much as you may want.
My suggestion concerning thermostatically raising the oil temp is based
on the suggestion that maybe as much as 25%-30% of your engine
cooling is accomplished in the lube system. And since it's also important
to maintain a certain minimum oil temperature to boil off any condensed
moisture, maybe an oil thermostat would be a good partial solution.

[72Hornet]

Guys, forgive me if this does not make sense, but I boat mostly in fresh water in NW Iowa. I have open cooling systems in all of my boats. My 302 in the 1968 Donzi has a 140 degree thermostat in it as do most all of my boats. They typically run in the 150-170 degree range during the summer months when the raw lake water is warmer. According to my mechanic, this is optimum as it is actually better for the engine to run a bit warmer as that is what it is designed to do. As far as the water pump information, if you read some of the old Sherwood Manuals, they recommend changing the impellers every 6 months. Here in our shortened summer, we ususally change them every two years. After running on plane and coming into the dock, I usually let the boat run a while before shutting it down to let the engine temperature moderate a bit. It seems to work for me!

Someone, or several someones, here know more details about running
raw water cooled engines than I do. But I seem to remember a
somewhat critical "do-not-exceed-temp" of 140*, or so, to discourage
excessive scaling in the water jackets.
I suppose you could raise the temp a little bit w/a t-stat change, but
maybe not as much as you may want.
My suggestion concerning thermostatically raising the oil temp is based
on the suggestion that maybe as much as 25%-30% of your engine
cooling is accomplished in the lube system. And since it's also important
to maintain a certain minimum oil temperature to boil off any condensed
moisture, maybe an oil thermostat would be a good partial solution.

[John C in PA]

I seem to remember a somewhat critical "do-not-exceed-temp" of 140*, or so, to discourage excessive scaling in the water jackets.
Thats a new one on me. Perhaps for salt water boats.

I suppose you could raise the temp a little bit w/a t-stat change, but
maybe not as much as you may want.
Believe me George, I've googled every search term I can imagine (I even tried to find a sender built into the dipstick) and I can't find anything except the flow restrictor I mentioned in the OP. I guess 20 bucks isn't a big investment just to give it a try.

My suggestion concerning thermostatically raising the oil temp is based
on the suggestion that maybe as much as 25%-30% of your engine
cooling is accomplished in the lube system. And since it's also important
to maintain a certain minimum oil temperature to boil off any condensed
moisture, maybe an oil thermostat would be a good partial solution.
Thats why I wanted to install an oil temp guage. 8 quarts is a lot of oil for a stock motor to heat up.

John C