Ok guys and gals here is the question of the day for my 2000 Dodge Durango Sport with the 4.7 V8 engine.

Ok so those that know about my overheating problems here is todays question. Can I totally remove the thermostat before I spend the money and time to change the radiator without having to put in a seal or gasket of some kind?

The reason I ask is that the fact that I took off the radiator cap and let the car heat up and I did not see any flow at all when the thermostat should have opened up.

Question number two.

Could the thermostat not opening up have caused the upper radiator hose to blow like it did on my car?

Just fishing here guys trying to diagnose for as little as possible. Thanks again for your assistance.

 

I'm confused about the gasket question... Are you considering driving around without a thermostat?

 

i dont think driving arround without a thermostat is a good idea at all

 

yes you can remove and drive around w/o a thermostat in, but i wouldnt do it as a permanent fix sine it will drastically increase the warm up time for the engine which isnt a good thing.

the t-stat is located in the lower radiator hose on the 4.7 (yea i konw, great engineering idea there)

can you leave the gasket off if you just remove the t-stat, im not sure, it depends on if the gasket is also used to seal the hose back to the block or if it just seals the t-stat, if it just seals the t-stat you should be able to run w/o the stat and gasket, but when you replace the stat you will have to replace the gasket either way.

EDIT: after looking at the factory service manual you will need to have a gasket on there with or without the t-stat in place.

 

Thanks guys the removing of the t-stat is just to test it to see if it is a true circulation problem or just a bad thermostat. This is Texas in the 100 degree spring so I am not too worried about running without it. However I would not run without it permanently.

I am really just trying to see if it is a clogged radiator or a water pump or a bad t-stat that is causing my circulation problems. Also why the upper radiator hose busted.

Any insight on that one???

Also the t-stat has the gasket attached so I am thinking that it is used to seal the t-stat and not the hose. I think cuz there are one piece.

 

Honesty it probably wouldn't cause any problems if you were in a very hot climate in the summer. Not that I would recommend it. Any other place or time you are asking for trouble.

 

Yep live in San Antonio and working in Texas and south Louisiana all year long. Found a radiator for $75 bucks gonna try to put it in myself with some help from a Dodge Veteran so maybe I will try a new t-stat or taking it out as well.

 

I lived in Houston for a couple years... You'll be fine without the thermostat during this time of year. You guys are probably flirting with triple digits already huh?

 

Yep already 6 days over 100 and San Antonio is worse than Houston cuz no rain or ocean.

 

man NYC area has had 2 days over 100 already (ok 101 and 100, but still tahts pretty damn hot)