s14 KA24DE Cooling System Issues

[datboibrad]

cliff notes: basically i cant figure out why with a thermostat the engine runs hot immediately, but without it runs fine.

Ive got a 95 S14 with a DOHC KA.

A little background info on this setup.

The engine is out of a previous s14 of mine from like 2006. Since then the motor has seen atleast 5 different chassis from s13-s14. Never once had any serious mechanical work done to it other than maybe a clutch change, few gaskets and your typical maintenance. This motor has seen everything from daily driving to occasional drift events.

Now for the problem im having. since swapping the motor into my current daily s14 chassis i ran into the issue of it overheating. So i flushed the system, checked for leaks and replaced every major component shy of the heater core. Upon first start up everything seemed fine. First test drive up the block its MAXED out the temp gauge. After hours of digging i came to the conclusion the thermostat wasnt opening. Pulled it and tested on a bench in a cup of water and watched it open and close. Replaced thermostat re-bled system etc, again same problem. Got tired and frustrated so i just pulled the thermo and never worried about it again till winter. Once winter came i started all over same process got me the same result. i decided to gut the thermostat and make it like a washer to sorta slow the flow of water to give me SOME heat for the winter.

Still to this day i run no thermostat, but what always bothered me is how the temp gauge shows normal operating temp. ive switched from stock clutch fans to taurus e fan. Every setup showed the exact same reading even the Taurus fan on HI still showed the same temp. I realize the stock gauge is crap but every other car ive ever ran no thermostat in ran noticeably colder than normal temp.

Can anyone explain this?