Thermostat Question-1995 Southwind Storm

Hopefully it didn't break off and is inside the engine!
You didn't see anything in the intake manifold below the water inlet?
Your new thermostat is a 195 degree?

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:( That didn't work

Sorry Bsinmich, I am absolutely baffled on how to post an image. If you can give me any intel on that, I'd be happy to post a pic. Dougrainer that is definitely not the case. The thermostat piece I removed has two slots where the bottom would have been affixed thru, so it's definitely missing the bottom half. Hey Bud, that is definitely what my new thermostat looks like and the remains of the old part is just the top of that. I scoped inside for what little my scope could see and did not see the missing parts anywhere. Its possible its inside somewhere further down the system, but who knows because I don't know if it was there to begin with. I have two fans Fred. The clutch fan on the inside surrounded by the cowl is operating fine and the electric fan on the front of the radiator is also working fine when the a/c is on. Tropical 36, I appreciate the candid information. I am assuming this is what the previous owners must have been thinking. Arizona's valley floor is considered hot 9 months out of the year, but those other 3 months can get pretty chilly too and of course any way you travel it is usually uphill and its cooler at the higher elevations. We took the Coach from AZ to Southern FL last year and we are doing it again this year. Since changing the hoses, thermostat and antifreeze last night, I drove it around today for a while with temps varying between 70 degrees in the morning to 94 degrees this afternoon. Everything seemed to function fine. My temp gauge never hit 210 degrees, which was a pretty good indicator everything was working the way it should. Thanks for all of the answers and if I can figure out how to post a photo, I'll post a pic of the partial t-stat.

splasharizona wrote:
Thermostat question...Is it common practice for someone to put in only the upper half of a thermostat or would using only the upper half of a thermostat possibly be a roadside fix to an overheating problem?

I have a 1995 Southwind Storm, gas on a Chevy P30 with a 7.4l 454 engine. I live in the Phoenix, AZ area. When I bought the coach almost three years ago the antifreeze was new, so I had no need to do anything to the cooling system until now. I decided to flush the cooling system, change the upper and lower hoses and thermostat. When I began the initial drain I pulled the engine side of the upper radiator hose and then the thermostat housing. What I discovered was a half of a thermostat in the housing, the top half. The entire lower half was nowhere to be found.

It has been the practice of some to remove the thermo and install restriction rings in it's place or for making your own, as may be the case with yours. Especially if you mostly operate in warmer climates and are not in any hurry for an initial warm up or concern yourself with fuel economy, all that much.
With these, there is no chance of thermo failure and with the proper restriction, the coolant doesn't move too fast through the system and thereby not staying in the radiator long enough for proper cooling.

It the thermostat is not correct, it can cause it to take a really long time to warm up and run correctly. When cold the fuel injection system injects extra fuel to warm up the engine. So mileage can be poor due to the increased fuel used to warm up the engine.

Also if a little of the wax inside the thermostat leaks out, it will not fully open, and thus overheat on a warm day.

Then there is the possible overheating caused by the fan clutch not engaging fully at the correct air temp. If you can hear the fan roar on a mountain grade, then it is working. If you fail to hear it engage - it is time to replace it.

Have fun camping!

Fred.

Your thermostat should look like this. If bottom is missing some did it, reason could be to try to get better cooling.
Make sure you find one that fails in the open position.
Cooling system could have an issue, like debris between the radiator and AC,
Thermostat

I think you are mistaken. Most old Tstats are flat with the mechanism like an upper dome---no bottom. IF you have a tstat that does NOT function---allows the water to flow unrestricted, the vehicle will overheat. The Tstat functions also as a restriction to allow the coolant to flow slower thru the radiator to remove the heat. IF the coolant flows too fast(when people remove the tstat) thru the radiator, it will NOT have the complete heat removed and the engine will run hot in hot temps. Doug

here is a link to a common tstat.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mrg-4363?seid=srese1&gclid=CNmu166W-swCFQkyaQodKxMNSw

Can you post a photo of that?