gDMJoe

And having a 170 degree thermostat is meaningless -UNLESS- you alter the kick-on temp' of the cooling fan(s). e.g. ...

• thermostat is wide-open at 170 degrees.
• meaning ... coolant has reached 170 degrees.
• since the cooling fans kick-on at a coolant temp' of (say) 200 degrees (?) ...
  • having the thermostat wide-open has no cooling effect.
  • coolant temp' will rise to the cooling fans' setting, until ...
  • the coolant temp' falls-below the cooling fans' setting.

And YES, I know that air flowing over the radiator fins may/could keep the coolant temp' below the cooling fans' settings, however, not indefinitely.
.

hardhat

Agreed