What happens if thermostat is installed upside down?

So if you put it in backwards, the water pump flow will push open the thermostat and cause it to take MUCH longer to heat up. When a thermostat is in correct orientation, there needs to be coolant flow, else the stat will be in dead zone and take longer to heat up.Click to see full answer. Correspondingly, what problem can occur to an engine if the thermostat is installed upside down?But the problem with a thermostat in backwards is that the bulb end, which controls opening/closing, is that it won’t be in the path of coolant that’s heating up. It’ll be on the radiator side where there’s no flow and the only heat will be by convection.Furthermore, which way does thermostat go? The shorter end (Arrow B) of the thermostat always points toward the radiator hose, and away from the engine. Therefore, the deep end (Arrow C) of the thermostat always gets installed going towards, or into, the engine. In this manner, what would happen if the thermostat was installed backwards? If you installed the thermostat backwards, it would probably not open up enough to allow coolant to flow, and the temp gauge would shoot up into the far right range, the engine would overheat, etc. So the overflow tank provides a way for the engine to only have as much coolant as it needs.Which way does coolant flow through a thermostat?After doing its thing, the coolant flows through the upper hose to the radiator where it releases the heat. Then, the water pump sends it back down into the engine’s water jackets to continue the cooling process.