drilling hole in stat
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 4,135
Likes: 1
drilling hole in stat
after reading a reply to post the other day about drilling 2 small holes in the stat so air can be relieved i was wondering where exectly you drill them and what size hole--- my daughter has a nissan centra and every time i change the coolant i get a bad air lock and since i plan on changing the stat soon i would like to do this drilling to avoid future air locks---------------------------carl
Pro
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 642
Likes: 0
From: Baton Rouge LA
I would do 2 small holes about 1/8". Not sure what a Nissan thermostat looks like but normally you just do them in the flange across from one another. You want just enough to allow a little water to bypass which wont hurt warm up.
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Safety Car
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 4,101
Likes: 10
From: NorCal
Very common
I do 'em all. In older cars, and even in some quality replacement stats, they have a vent hole with a little float that closes up when coolant reaches the stat on a fresh fill-up. I only put one small 1/8 hole (near the top if the stat mounts vertically as on many front wheel drivers) to vent the block, and it's so small I have not seen any adverse effects on warm-up. Beats overheating the engine!
If you don't like the idea of a hole, just pull the top heater hose on the intake, jack up the car a bit in front and fill the radiator 'till it reaches the heater hose outlet. Put the heater hose back on and fill it up the rest of the way and your done!
Hans
If you don't like the idea of a hole, just pull the top heater hose on the intake, jack up the car a bit in front and fill the radiator 'till it reaches the heater hose outlet. Put the heater hose back on and fill it up the rest of the way and your done!
Hans
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 3,030
Likes: 17
From: White Pine / Dandridge TN
Originally Posted by bobs77vet
heres where i drilled mine....two 1/16 holes its hard to imagine it slows up warming too much.....
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Senior Member since 1492
Joined: Aug 2000
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From: Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get me...
St. Jude Donor '09
Originally Posted by Frankenvette
I did the exact same thing. It had no impact on warm up. Also, a tip I once read about filling coolant is to remove the thermostat and start filling the radiator. When the coolant is just about to spill out via the thermostat opening, reinstall the stat. This allows the majority of air to escape easily. I've done this everytime and had no problems. I use to get funny temp readings due to air pockets until I used this technique along with the holes in the stat.
I drill holes too.
Except when I just put in the 454 I filled the radiator with the thermostat out but upper hose still connected to the radiator. Once the fluid started flowing out the radiator I put the cap on the radiator filler neck. I then continued to add coolant thru the intake(thermostat housing) until full then put in the thermostat. Some guys go one step more and continue to add more coolant thru the upper hose while holding it as vertical as possible.
It worked for me.
