My stock 98 Cobra has finally reach the massive mileage of 35,000 so I’ve decided to do some preventative maintenance due to age rather than mileage, I’ve change the fuel filter, plugs and leads, had the radiator and block flushed. I’ve now got replacement radiator top and bottom hoses (Goodyear) and a new serpentine belt and idler puller (Gates) to fit, I am thinking while doing this about changing the Thermostat at the same time but not sure as to the best one to use, do I keep the standard 195 degrees one or go for a 180? I live in Las Vegas so it doesn’t get very cold here so what will be the best coolant/mix to use? While I’m doing this maintenance is there anything else I should change as a precaution due to the age of the vehicle and the heat it is kept in. Thanks for any advice. Creeper
Doesn't really matter if you go with the 195 or 180 t-stat. The car will still come up to temperature (unless you program your radiator fans to turn on earlier with a programmer) - there's not a great need to tweak the cooling system unless you are experiencing overheating issues. Is your car currently overheating? However, do make sure that your cooling system was properly "burped" of any trapped air - many cobra owners experience overheating after flushing their cooling system due to refilling it at the wrong location (you need to refill at the coolant crossover tube, directly in front of the radiator, instead of at the overflow tank). If your shop performed the radiator flush, make sure they did it the properly. Since you live in a warm climate, you could get away with running a higher percentage of water in the cooling system but finding a prediluted 50/50 mix of coolant should suffice for most applications. The only other thing you should do maintenance wise, would be to bleed the brake system (especially if its never been done before on a 10 year old vehicle). Have a reputable brake shop perform the bleed if you are not comfortable with this task. G'luck!
No issues with overheating, I just feel it would be a good investment to do some preventative maintenance due to age, just a bit at a time but with a bit of planing so I don't have to keep taking the some bits off to do the next bit, hence the thermostat when doing the hoses and the serpentine belt at the same time as the hoses are off for a bit more room at the front of the engine. With the brake bleed should I get the brakes flushed and new fluid?
I would also replace the fluid in the rear axle and the transmission. Don't forget the limited slip additive for the rear.
Yes, get some synthetic type brake fluid in there. I would also get the tranny and rear end flushed and new fluids added.
