180 degree thermostat question
 

hey all,
i've been trolling a bit and noticed that most of you guys have swapped down to a 180 degree thermostat, some are using a 160. i have a mostly stock (intake and ignition mods) '95 L27. i figured the 180 would be my best bet.

i noticed some people mentioned drilling the t-stat before installation, but i haven't seen any details beyond that. does anyone have a picture of a drilled T-stat or a least a good explanation of what exactly to do?

thanks
-Marik

The 180 will be best for you since you are practically stock. 160 is for more heavily modified cars. Drilling the 180 keeps a small but constant flow of coolant all the time, good for hot climates. It consists of drilling 1/16" holes on the inside of the rim of the t-stat. The holes should generally be equal distance away from each other, probably not vital, but I'd do it that way. 2 holes should also be sufficient for most people.

That's all I can tell you. I don't have any pics. :)

Actually anything less than a 180 T stat should set a check engine light. And drilling holes is normally done on supercharged to increase the flow ability during boost periods where temps can spike quickly.

You are sure you have a 95 L27 and not a 95 L36? I'm unsure if the vans got the new motor a year after the Bonne or not.

yeah the vans kept the L-27 another year, you know, to get rid of all the crap...

thanks guys

No Bonnies for 1995 got the L27, If they were Natrually Aspirated they got the L36 NA 3800 Series II motor... The Buick Lesabre and I think Buick Reagal still got the L27 Series I engine... I think the Olds 98 and Buick Park Avenue also got the series II if they were NA'd..

Yes on stock programming go no lower than a 180F T Stat, 160 will be too low..

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Ahh Ok that makes sense..

The TPI 3800 was a good motor and was more than up to the task of moving the transport around...

I guess we should say that some of the H,W and U Body( Minivan ) retained the L27 TPI 3800 for the 1995 Model year where the others went to the new L36...

But with that L27, some TR55's, An intake, 180 T Stat, may make it feel a bit better...

Also can you look at the RPO list? I think its located behind pannel in the rear of the van... I'm wondering what gear ratio you have with that 3800... I'm thinking 3.06, I know in 96 they were using a 3.29 ratio with the 3400...

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IIRC from another thread, there weren't any Pontiac vans that got the Series 2. I think somebody said that in '96 they switched to a 3.4 or something like that.

You live in Florida (Welcome to BC, BTW! :D ), so it won't hurt you to drill your T'stat. Here's a pic for you, but this is two 1/8" holes. You might want to go smaller, like 1/16"-3/32". ;) Also, like said, stick with the 180*.

Edit: the pic, courtesy of harofreak00:
Attachment 66386


Hey, I live in Deltona. I'm like 30 minutes away.

lash forgot the pic, then added it later, but here is another angle

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d6...2/DSC01251.jpg

Note the 2 holes opposite each other...