I just bought a 1992 Bonneville SSE. Do I need to change the thermostat to a 180? The car normally operates at about 215. My mechanic says this is normal for these cars.

It may be NORMAL BUT, if yours is NA & EGRLess like mine I would change it! Trust me! My engine now runs way cooler than it did before I switched to a drilled 180 T-stat!

.Yeah goto auto zone and get a 180 therm. they are only 8 bucks and they work great?! they are easy to put in and you prolly need to redu your coolant anyways . Yeah youll be suprised by doing this how much of a differance it makes.

tonyg,

You will be just fine with a stock 195 in your '92, but I guess a 180 won't hurt. Your emissions may run a little higher than with a 195, and your mileage may fall off a bit. She'* probably got a few miles on her doesn't she? If you must do the e-check thing in your area, and you have trouble passing, get back to that 195!!

I have 187,000 miles and have always run with a stock 195 thermostat. Typically I run about 200 degrees F year round. Recently though, I've noticed her hovering around 210-215 before the fans bring her back down. The little thermo is probably getting a little tired with 100,000 on her! She'* waaaay overdue. Time to change her out I guess.

One other thing, even though you do not have an EGR like my '92 also, you do have the nice aluminum upper intake. She'll handle a little extra heat just fine.

Yeah the intake can handle the heat, BUT the Heads & Exhaust Manifolds CAN'T! The Exhaust valves burn out & the exhaust manifolds crack over time due to this excess heat generated by the EGRless engine! I've got one that has a burnt valve in cylinder #6 & a cracked manifold on the #3 bend too.

True considering you have no EGR I would definatly go out and spend the 6 dollars for a new 180 therm. This 6$ part may save you hundreds of dollars in major engine repair due to massive heat.

180 therm and tranny cooler, definite first two mods. Just ask Will

Especially if you plan on adding more POWER

Thanks for the advice guys.

BTW, I thought these SSE'* already have a transmission cooler. Or are you increasing the size of the one you have?

I thought that was the small radiator mounted to the front of my standard cooler.

Regarding the 180, I'm going to pick one up tomorrow. Any suggestions as to brand to stick with?

The SSEs and SSEi'* have one already but a second one is added protection. It can't hurt. I think http://www.grandprixstore.com has some.

I got a 180 t-stat from there too. It'* the Hypertech Powerstat.