I have learnt a lot on this section concerning proper maintenance of vehicles including the importance and function of thermostat in vehicle engines. I overheard a conversation between my uncle and one of his heavy duty (30 tonnes) truck drivers about the need to remove the truck's thermostat. According to the driver, he observes that temperature gauge rises beyond the mid level when operating the truck which makes the drivers cabin hot and all. He (the driver) recommended the removal of the thermostat since the truck is a 'tokunbo' . I advised my uncle not to remove the thermostat as it will lead to increase in wear and tear of the engine as the engine might not be working at the optimal temperature.
He is very old school and my explanations were not very convincing to him cos he said he always removes the thermostat from all his 'tokunbo' trucks with no hassles.
My questions to the house are;
* Am I correct in my advice to him not to remove the thermostat from the truck (Diesel engine and all)?
* What other things might contribute to the truck temperature gauge rising and the driver's cabin heating up? ( he told me he just replaced the engine top gasket with new ones)

thanks y'all

Pls let him pay money to clownsmechanics in dirty overalls (who never figured out the real reason why manufacturers installed a thermostat in a vehicle) to butcher his vehicle. Double tragedy

The thermo is probably bad. Even in that case he should just change it, not eliminate it! those truck engines are hideously expensive to replace so do let him know!

For all you know, the mechs are probably aware of this, however all those failing engines bring them steps closer to dat tokunbo Camry they have their eyes on! It may be a conspiracy!!!

Thanks.
But how do one check/confirm that the thermo is bad/faulty?

Razmuhy: Thanks.
But how do one check/confirm that the thermo is bad/faulty?

Its pretty easy. put the thermostat in a pot of boiling water. If you have a thermometer, make sure the temparature is the same as the thermo's rating. At this stage, u'll observe the themostat opening. When its fully open, quickly transfer it to a pot of cooler water: it will resume closed position. Any observation otherwise these may denote a bad thermostat.

Razmuhy: Thanks.
But how do one check/confirm that the thermo is bad/faulty?

OP, hope he has finally paid his hard earned money to those clowns to help him remove the termostat?

billy187:
Its pretty easy. put the thermostat in a pot of boiling water. If you have a thermometer, make sure the temparature is the same as the thermo's rating. At this stage, u'll observe the themostat opening. When its fully open, quickly transfer it to a pot of cooler water: it will resume closed position. Any observation otherwise these may denote a bad thermostat.

thanks a lot... I'll talk him into trying it out..