Thanks, when the rain stops I'll get on it. Speaking of the relief
hole, the shop where I buy my parts suggest drilling one if it's not
there. What do you think?

Jim

On Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 12:49 PM, David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net> wrote:
> At 01:15 PM 3/5/2011, Jim Felder wrote:
>>
>> When I start the car from cold, the temperature needle climbs steadily
>> and slowly up past the middle through the 3.4 mark, no matter what.
>> Top of radiator, which spews coolant and not air when opened, is cool
>> to the touch. Thermostat? I will gamble the money and replace it next
>> week when I can get a good one.
>
> Doesn't sound like a huge gamble to me...but you can test it mostly with
> water or fully with coolant mix and a thermometer: should start to open
> around 185F/85C and be fully open (minimum 8 mm stroke) at around 220F/105C.
> �Bentley 19.11.
>
> And as Dennis and others remind us, the correct replacement does *not* have
> a relief hole or check ball on the side, and *does* have a gasket on the
> edge of the moving plate. �And it goes in with the spring facing down �and
> the O-ring on top.
>
> Yours,
> David
>