180 vs 195 thermostat ford F150

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Thermostat Question (180 or 195?)

Senior Member

Thread Starter

Join Date: Oct 2010

Location: Charlotte, NC

Posts: 2,636

Should I worry about it or should I not worry about it?

I live in the southeast where it's very humid, so I think that is the contributing factor in regarding what I have described below.

I installed a 160 degree thermostat during the early fall. Upon installing this 160 stat, under my oil filler cap and in my dipstick tube, I see a white paste. I know for a fact it's not leaking coolant into the oil because I haven't had to add any coolant for well over 6 months. Also, when I changed the oil, nothing paste like or chocolate milk like was in the oil. The oil looked great as a matter of fact.

The engine runs cool to the point that the temperature gauge doesn't even make it to the "N" in the Normal range. I recently purchased a 195 degree thermostat to install, but I'm wondering could I accomplish the crankcase moisture "burn off" with a 180 degree thermostat.

It's probably an experiment at this point to see what temperature works best. I'd like for the truck to run as cool as possible, but for sanity purposes, the white paste (especially in the dipstick tube) has got to go away so I can truly monitor what's going on with my engine as a responsible owner.

What are your thoughts? Experiment with 180 first? Go with O.E. 195?

Also, I'd like to add that even though the O.E. temperature is 195, I have concerns about transmission temperatures and I'm kicking around the idea of a transmission cooler install maybe with a mounted fan on it at some point if I go the 195 route.

Even if you don't live in the southeast, chime in and let me know how your truck performs with a 180 or 195 degree thermostat or provide general feedback on this.

Springer Spaniels Rule

Join Date: Jun 2009

Location: Milltown, NJ

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Anything less than 195 just wastes gas. A 180 thermo will not necessarily keep your engine cool, that depends on your cooling system, fan, and the wat\antifreeze mix. If you are worried about heat, Afco or Be Cool makes 3 row alum radiators that will keep your engine cool.

Hi-Rev Motorsports

Join Date: Aug 2009

Location: Northern Indiana

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save gas and keep the 160 but fix the PCV system so it works right...

Positive Crancase Ventilation...when its working as it should there wont be any moisture....

I live where is humid and I dont got any white stuff...

Springer Spaniels Rule

Join Date: Jun 2009

Location: Milltown, NJ

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Good point on the working pcv system Dr, which includes a working pcv valve and no valve cover leaks to keep vacuum in the motor.

Martin

Join Date: Jan 2011

Location: Lehi, Utah

Posts: 3,035

I'd run the 195. I tried the same thing with a 160, my truck runs much better with the 195.

This is how I fixed the goop in the dipstick tube. Take some silicone and coat the cap end of the dipstick. Let this set for 1/2 hour(so its not all the way hardened) then put it back into the tube. Most new cars have o-rings on the dipstick, this stops the engine from venting through the tube.

My dipstick would be coated with goop and after doing this there is no goop at all. It was actually quite a relief because that goop was driving me nuts.

We'd do it

iTrader: (1)

Join Date: May 2008

Location: Orlando,Fl.

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I am in the southeast, and this is my truck as used every day:

I run the stock thermostat and the needle still barely goes over the N.

Senior Member

Thread Starter

Join Date: Oct 2010

Location: Charlotte, NC

Posts: 2,636

I went out and checked the dipstick and oil filler cap this morning and the white stuff I saw in the oil filler cap during mid winter is gone. It had been awhile since I opened the oil filler cap, so that's probably a non issue at this point.

However, the dipstick still has it on there as it does every time I check it, which is 2 to 3 times a week.

Question - Did later model truck 302 engines come with a different dipstick setup? One with an O-Ring perhaps? I'm thinking about just getting a new dipstick for maybe a 96 F150 if it's an improvement over the 90 F150 dipstick. At this point upon doing a further study, I think the entire dipstick setup itself is the culprit.

Last edited by qdeezie; 04-02-2011 at 10:52 AM.

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Location: Long Beach Calimexifornia

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Quote:

Originally Posted by qdeezie

I went out and checked the dipstick and oil filler cap this morning and the white stuff I saw in the oil filler cap during mid winter is gone. It had been awhile since I opened the oil filler cap, so that's probably a non issue at this point.

However, the dipstick still has it on there as it does every time I check it, which is 2 to 3 times a week.

Question - Did later model truck 302 engines come with a different dipstick setup? One with an O-Ring perhaps? I'm thinking about just getting a new dipstick for maybe a 96 F150 if it's an improvement over the 90 F150 dipstick. At this point upon doing a further study, I think the entire dipstick setup itself is the culprit.

Engine sludge is a Moisture magnet. Personally, I would "Seafoam" treat your engine. De-sludge, then change oil & run 20% "Lucas oil stabilizer". I would also switch to synthetic as soon as the problem is rectified.

But just like it take's a combination of air/fuel/spark to run an engine, I think your problem is probably a combination of things. You cant "seal" your oil system. Temperatures above ambient will attract moisture.

I'm not going to debate the attributes or supposed sins of "synthetics".

Last edited by ymeski56; 04-02-2011 at 11:38 AM.

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Join Date: Oct 2010

Location: Charlotte, NC

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ymeski56

Engine sludge is a Moisture magnet. Personally, I would "Seafoam" treat your engine. De-sludge, then change oil & run 20% "Lucas oil stabilizer". I would also switch to synthetic as soon as the problem is rectified.

But just like it take's a combination of air/fuel/spark to run an engine, I think your problem is probably a combination of things. You cant "seal" your oil system. Temperatures above ambient will attract moisture.

I'm not going to debate the attributes or supposed sins of "synthetics".

I'm a synthetic user all the way. I don't buy into those negative synthetic myths either because I've been using it way too long to know better, so I'm right there with you on that.

You are dead on about the sludge! When I first bought the truck, it was a sludge monster beyond belief. The engine had so much sludge in it that when I removed the valve covers, it reminded me of a bundt cake the way it was molded. It was about 4 to 5 inches thick or however deep the valve covers are from the rocker arm base. The engine probably had at least 3 to 5 gallons (I promise I'm not exaggerating) worth of sludge caked into it between the oil pan, under the intake manifold and under the valve covers. Cleaning it out was the most tedious job ever. It still has some residual sludge in it now because there was only so much I could do without taking the entire engine down and hot tanking it. The odd thing was, it ran very, very smooth, but with leaks at every corner of the engine. I repaired all of the leaks with the Fel-Pro blue permaseal gaskets wherever possible.

Right now, I have Rotella T6 5w-40 synthetic in it because of the detergent properties, but Seafoam with conventional oil for an OCI doesn't sound like a bad idea at this point because all I care about is no moisture at this point in time.

I used Seafoam in the engine once with conventional oil, and it certainly cleaned in that short time well enough to substantially increase my oil pressure, but I ended up draining it under 500 miles into the OCI because I ended up replacing the last few gaskets where I had leaks and that required me to drain and replace the oil. At this point, it looks like I may need to go back and finish what I started with the Seafoam.

Last edited by qdeezie; 04-02-2011 at 03:02 PM.

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195..engines are supposed to run at that temp..it's an emission thing.

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