CSR Thermostat Housing Mod
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Teching In
Joined: Jun 2007
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CSR Thermostat Housing Mod I don't know if anybody else has done this modification to the CSR thermostat housing but I did and it seems to work out real well. For my hybrid conversion I needed/wanted the straight housing that CSR makes. I bought it through Jegs and realized that the inside diameter of the housing is too small for the OEM thermostat. I also wanted to use a 160 degree thermostat but could not find one for the LS1 by itself as you had to buy the housing too. CSR recommends a late model thermostat for a chevy with a 65mm dia. Some people said it rattles and it is shorter then the OEM unit. The original OEM therm. has a seat that presses inside the water pump and I wanted to keep this feature. I'm not sure what the reason is but GM put it there for something. Anyway, I bought a new 160 degree thermostat for a 2004 GTO and other late LSX's and adapted the CSR housing for it. I took a die grinder to the CSR housing and widened the opening. I also had to remove the jiggle thing on the thermostat so it would sit flush. I suppose I could have drilled a hole for it but I don't think it's necessary. All one has to do is reach inside the housing and hold the thermostat in place while you tighten the cap screws a little. I fired up my engine which is on a test stand and it works great. I could tell the thermostat opened at 160 by watching the fluid in the radiator circulate. I don't have cooling fans on my test stand but I had the engine idling for about 10 minutes with the rad cap on and the temp went up to 210 before I turned her off.
Danno74Z
Danno74Z
12 Second Club
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 565
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From: 217
Don't forget about the 3.8 ford v6 tstat housing 97 windstar. It's a straight nipple too. you get to use it with no mods. I'm using one from a 1996 mustang It moves the nipple out about 3 inches and turns at a 45 degree angle. clears frame rail nicely. It would probably work well on a turbo car too.
