I just dropped off my car at the dealership....For a tranny leak and asked them to quote me on a 180 thermostat, and that I would like to get it done before the spring....he asked me if the car was running hot, I told him no, and I mentioned that I know quite a few ppl driving Bonnies that have had these changed from the stock thermostat....He was puzzeled, he had never heard of this before, and looked almost like he doubted me. He asked why they would do this... anyways, I just kinda say..oh, and asked him still to get me a quote on the work........

Ummmm, whats up guys? Really shaking my head right now, please tell me im not misunderstanding something here.

Well, the 180 is put in to stop the prolonged wear and tear on the plastic intake from excessive heat.

I told my dad, a mechanic, about this, and he never heard about people doing that before either, but he has dealt with many cracked intakes. He was sorta puzzled why I should get one too, but I explained to him that other people have done it and have had great results with it.

Tell your mechanics to put one in anyway, if you really want one. They should not deny you of putting one in.

A lot of service managers buried this service bulletin, as well as others, pertaining to the manifold failures. It is a huge windfall for dealerships when they can replace your engine....or tell you they did and charge you for it! They (GM mechanics) know of they 96-98 stat downgrade. Your corner gas station mechanic may or may not know about this...depends if they subscribe to TSB updating services or not. Keeping your 195 will eventually lead to their making a substantial sum off of you. Don't let that happen, Kimmers. Look the guy squarely in the face and say "I want it changed to a 180, cause I said so."

Thanks for the replys


Well, Im soooooooooo glad I have all you guys and gals to keep my head from spinning. What would I do without all you Bonnie freaks!!! Im gonna go with the 180 in the spring!!! Ill have to put it on my signature to remind myself
This place is priceless! Maybe someday Ill be able to answer some questions but for now you all will have to put up with the countless questions I can come up with

I was sharing this with Andy today, and I said to him wouldnt it be funny if this service manager went and was sharing this story with someone else and they confirmed about the 180 thermostat to him....and he could say he heard it from a women....BIG TEHEHEHEHE....
I went years getting Andy to take my car in for me....(my olds Calais) because I was affraid of getting ripped off. Andy says if I spend anymore time on this board they will want to be hiring me....

Kimmers, that Calais wasn't a Quad4, was it?

Ya why?
We are actually just looking into scrapping it. It was such a great little car!
May it rest in peace...when its gone!

I had one. With a 5-speed. That car had some scoot, especially after a little work. Sorry to see one die.

Kimmers,

Sol, Complinitor, and Jr's3800 were correct in their reasoning for changing out the T-stat to a 180...for all cars EXCEPT the SSEi (and other L67 powered Bonnies). The L27 and L36 Naturally Aspirated engines are prone to upper intake failure due to their plastic composition deteriorating.

HOWEVER, your car doesn't have the plastic upper intake manifold, so this is not an issue for you. The 180 T-stat is still very beneficial for our (L67 powered) cars because it helps keep the Supercharger cool, which increases longevity and power. The more the air is compressed through the Supercharger, the higher the operating temperature, and thus the less efficient the Supercharger. Heat robs power. This is why some turbo setups and Supercharger setups use intercoolers--to cool down the air charge of the turbo/supercharger, thus increasing air density--making it more efficient (more powerful). Any Supercharged vehicle owner can back this up. I will use my favorite example: between 1986 and 1987, Buick made the Grand National (turbo 3.. The '86 GN didn't have an intercooler and was fast, but the '87 GN had an intercooler and was the FASTEST domestic production car in the U.*. (and Canada--they were made in Canada)--much faster than the '86. This is because they cooled the air down after it went through the turbo.

BADSSEi is running an intercooler and is running high 11'* in the quarter mile.

Since most of us don't have the $ to put an intercooler on our cars (not to mention they don't make them for Series I), the next best thing is to keep the supercharger cooler by any other means possible--180 T-stat, external cooling, etc.

I hope this helps you understand a bit of difference between the Supercharged vs Naturally Asperated reasons for choosing an 180 degree T-stat. It is recommended for all four engines (L27, L36, L67-SI, L67-SII) and is especially important for the L27 and L36 for reasons given by Sol, Complinitor, and jr's3800.

I think they just overlooked the fact that you are running an SSEi.

Tim

You are correct! I did not see that she has an SSEi, but very good points on the cool-down.

Very nice thought. It would be like the grandchildren of the '87 GN get some inheritance. But is there room for an intercooler under the hood? Cause the one in the GN was a good size.