Ford Radiator Pipe

[Tony Smith]

That's a good point to remind us of, Lynn.

I think a lot of issues relating to overheating and the old argument of to have/not have a thermostat, don't put enough emphasis of the seating of the thermostat. (Just a rehash of the argument, there are people who have various schools of thought on keeping a Ford V8 cool; "no thermostat" to provide constant flow of coolant, "washer with a hole" to provide a constant flow, but keep it in the block a little longer, and "fit a thermostat" because that's how Henry made them.)

I like to fit a thermostat (160deg, for those who want to know), but it can only work like it's supposed to if it is snugly seated to the head outlet.

Ford designed these to have the metal radiator pipe fit down onto the thermostat and the hose to clamp it all in place. But modern practice is to have say 1/2" clearance inside the hose between the pipe and head, to allow the radiator pipe to flex a little to help aligning it to the radiator. The problem is also compounded with some retailers selling a complete rubber hose from head to radiator with no solid pipe section. This is OK IF you fit an additional clamp around the hose to crimp it a little to retain the thermostat on the head outlet. If you don't, the thermostat can lift off the head outlet and flow will bypass the thermostat.