Thermostat. Which brand

[black92]

I went with the Motorcraft one. $17 at my local dealer.

 

[Tommy's SHO]

Ok so it's better to get the 88C thermostat, will do. How about the rubber hoses. I have 89k miles on my '95 sho and i'm still on the original radiator hoses. When should i change them?

 

[SHOtimer]

Ok so it's better to get the 88C thermostat, will do. How about the rubber hoses. I have 89k miles on my '95 sho and i'm still on the original radiator hoses. When should i change them?

Yes, I would stick with the 88C thermostat. I changed all of my SHO's hoses at 132k except the two at the oil cooler - which I then changed at 165k when I pulled the motor. But, in both of those cases, none of them were leaking, but for the mileage and piece of mind I changed them. I know that they are going to become scare in the future so I wanted some new ones on there. For your case mileage wouldn't be the problem, but you must consider that those hoses are goin on 11 years old. I would replace them.

Doug

 

[SonicRiot]

It's a double edged sword. Replacing all of the rubber coolant lines can result in lots of parts that need cleaning and/or replacement. New clamps and seals are needed to do the whole system. Replacing all of the lines can really open up a can of worms.

The other side is that leaving them to rot can result in blown hoses.

As a general rule, I inspect them with every oil change. If I see built up residue, dry-rot, or bulges, I replace the offending hose.

I would replace the upper and lower radiator hoses for now and inspect the others. Ever replaced the one that bridges the gap between the T-stat and water outlet housings? No that's a PITA!

 

[SHOZ123]

I would replace all of them. Otherwise one will blow at the least opportune time. Most of the smaller hoses can be replaced with generic heater hose. The oil cooler U shaped one is a bit special as are the larger diameter hoses.

The short 1.5" one that connects the metal pipes under the TB is what blew on mine.

 

[TYSHO]

FWIW, most auto stores sell heater hoses by the foot for next to nothing. They even have some for the power steering and transmission. When I bought mine from O'Reilly's, they carried Gates.

 

[SonicRiot]

For a couple of my hoses when I sprung a leak, I had to buy a Honda (IIRC)upper radiator hose and hack it up. I got quite a few peices of it and it was 4.99.