Hi all I have question about having a thermostat in your machine, Cat excavator, or just leave it out. I live on the edge of the desert and its quit hot. Low temperatures maybe 20 degrees Celsius (68F) and high 40C (104F). My radiator seems to be clogged up a bit, but while I am working I want to eliminate future problems. I was thinking of just removing it before it might get stuck one day. What do you guys think?
Most thermostats will be two way, that is they will open to the radiator and close off the bypass as they get hot. If you don't have a working thermostat, some of the coolant will continue to follow that bypass instead of flowing through the radiator REDUCING the cooling capacity. Easy to tell which one you have by looking at the thermostat and the empty housing, to see if the thermostat seals off another port, and where the three ports are on the housing (one is usually the cover that has the hose port to the radiator, then two inside the housing).
Wot he said. Contrary to popular belief removing the temperature regulator will NOT improve coolant flow and is quite likely to make it worse. If the one that is installed right now is not operating correctly then replace it with a new one. THIS is the issue that you should be addressing. Blocked internally, externally, or both.? Post a Serial Number if you want some detailed information on a particular excavator. EDIT: I suppose another pertinent question at this point is what do you use for coolant.?
Its a CAT 323D Sn: CAT0323DVSDC00803 I use ENI RTU (ready to use) antifreeze.
I would suggest that you do NOT remove the temperature regulator because it controls the bypass for the coolant circulation. Removing it can actually reduce the coolant flow. The explanation of how the cooling system works on your particular machine is attached. If you are experiencing high coolant temperatures then you really need to do a proper diagnosis of the cooling system to find out why.
Thanks everyone. Makes sense. I just replaced it with a new one anyway.