Thermostat. Which brand

[black92]

Im going to replace my thermostat soon, but I want to replace it with a quality one so I dont have to do it again. Any good brands? Any brands to stay away from?

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

stick with the OEM motorcraft thermostat. You can get it from Torrie at Fast Parts Network (one of our forum sponsors). Costs a bit more, but is original equipment.

 

[Eliw]

I second the motocraft thermostat. I think its the best one I have seen to replace an old one with

 

[SHOtimer]

I third the motorcraft replacement parade. You can also get them at www.rockauto.com if you have one nearby.

Doug

 

[Shoaz]

There are others, YMMV. There are a few articles on shotimes.com about thermostats for more info. FWIW, finding a thermostat with _all_ of the features of the Motorcraft units is difficult, i.e., one or more jiggle valves, the long valve that controls the valley tube (whatever the name of that thing may be), the right diameter, temperature, etc. The motorcraft also has one of the biggest, if not the biggest, main openings of any comparable t-stat.

All that being said, the Motorcraft unit is also 2-3x more expensive than aftermarket units and can be harder to find in a pinch. FWIW, I've had a Stant in my silver car for a few years now with zero problems, including lots of track duty in 105F ambient conditions.

Also, FWIW, my experience with parts stores being able to find a compatible unit is dismal. I gave up trying to get compatible t-stats from the stores and did my own research instead in order to find something that works.

 

[Eliw]

Rockauto is the best place to get the motorcraft one. You can even order it online. (i have a discount code, the discount is small, but its still a discount (PM me if you want the discount))

 

[SolidState]

isn't there two ford units, though? one was 180 and the other 192?

I have a newish ford unit with a 70/30 mix of water/antifreeze, with a new radiator and it struggles to keep temperature on the really cold days.

 

[Shoaz]

isn't there two ford units, though? one was 180 and the other 192?

No, the OEM units are all 192F (88C).

 

[sdpatt]

There were two separate OEM thermostats (82C/179.6F and 88C/190.4F) at one time. I was one who stuck with the OEM replacements until I could not conveniently locate a 180F Motocraft unit. My 1991 came originally with teh 82C Motorcraft part. I have been lately using an AutoZone 492-180 (180F) part for $8.99. The operation has been fine for the last 20,000 miles.

The Motorcraft 'stats were well designed, but always seemed to fail by not fully closing. However, that is more preferable to failing to open.

 

[SASHO91]

yeah i wish all tstats would fail open, instead of the latter.

Scott, the autozone part that you listed above, do you like it? what do temps run at?
I have had problems with lower temp tstats... they seem to fail on me for some reason. maybe my coolant/water mix is not balanced??
I had been running a 185, and then a 180 before the 185, both ran fine for a short time.
and since Texas isnt know for cool days... well you catch my drift....

 

[Shoaz]

There were two separate OEM thermostats (82C/179.6F and 88C/190.4F) at one time.

I'll still disagree with that. Until someone can produce a pic or something of an OEM t-stat that says something other than 88C on it, they're all 88C. (It's stamped on the face.)

Like this:

 

[Racer X]

Does anyone know who designed the Motorcraft unit? It wasn't Ford, because the last motorcraft thermostat I bought had "Made in Japan" stamped on the package. I bought it at Scarsdale Ford, in Scarsdale, NY.

 

[TYSHO]

I bought one from O'Reilly's awhile back, I think it's a Murray. Anyways, that t-stat came with a jiggle valve and a fail-safe type deal, like OEM, that when it gets to hot, it sticks open.

 

[shojuan]

I had been running a 185, and then a 180 before the 185, both ran fine for a short time.
and since Texas isnt know for cool days... well you catch my drift....

I've had the same motorcraft 88C thermostat in my 89 for the past 50,000 miles with no problems. Around these parts we get as many 100+ degree days in the summer as you do in Texas and on such days towing 1000 pound of waverunner, trailer, and hundreds of pounds of gear I've still had no problems whatsoever temperature. Shoot, installing a police grill didn't seem to make a difference because there just wasn't a heat problem before.

If it gets hot enough both thermostats will be full open. If anything will make a positive difference in those circumstances it will be the larger coolant opening of the motorcraft thermostat. If you've got reliability problems with aftermarket thermostats give the motorcraft unit a try.

The most important thing however is just keep your cooling system clean. If you want to be able to process more heat then lower your ratio of coolant more towards 30% and use some redline water wetter. Makes for more powerfuly heat in winter too. Try using a chemical cleaner in your cooling system first, do a final rinse with distilled water and make sure that only distilled water gets added.

 

[SHOZ123]

Doesn't the smaller disc on the engine side close off the bypass opening when the temps near 190F?

 

[sdpatt]

I'll still disagree with that. Until someone can produce a pic or something of an OEM t-stat that says something other than 88C on it, they're all 88C. (It's stamped on the face.)

The only way I knew that there was an 82C Motorcraft thermostat was because I had seen that number stamped on the thermostats that I had bought from Ford and installed in my car.

I have only used the "82C" Motorcraft thermostats until the AutoZone version that I installed the last time. My car has never had an overheating problem and the AutoZone 'stat hasn't changed that. But then I haven't pulled my 3,000 boat and trailer in 100F+ temperatures in over a year either.

 

[Shoaz]

The only way I knew that there was an 82C Motorcraft thermostat was because I had seen that number stamped on the thermostats that I had bought from Ford and installed in my car.

Got a part number? The Helms and other p/n sources only indicate one OEM part number (with A and B revisions, which didn't affect the opening temp) for the SHO t-stat, and that's for the 88C units.

 

[SonicRiot]

Even if the T-Stat is made of Gold, you'll still have to replace it. You should be replacing your T-Stat and gasket every time you flush the coolant system, which for most of us is 2 years.

Don't put a lower temp T-Stat in. That's an old trick. The vehicle's computer will do rational tests when it gets whacky info from the sensors. A lower temp T-Stat makes most modern cars run like poo. My SHO never warmed up correctly and chugged gas when I had a 180 deg F in it. The stock unit I believe is 191 deg F. It made a big difference in performance when I switched it back to stock.


Go with the Motorcraft unit and you can't go wrong.

 

[sdpatt]

My 1989 and 1991 SHOs both came with the 82C thermostat. I had consistently seen the 82C version on 3.0L, non-California SHOs that I have serviced and the 88C 'stat in all 3.2L versions. My understanding is that the programming in my car and other 3.0L SHOs was set up for the 82C opening temperature and that the 3.2L was calibrated for the higher temperature. Anyone have any definitive data on this issue?

 

[Shoaz]

My 1989 an 1991 SHOs both came with the 82C thermostat. I had consistently seen the 82C version on 3.0L, non-California SHOs that I have serviced and the 88C 'stat in all 3.2L versions. My understanding is that the programming in my car and other 3.0L SHOs was set up for the 82C opening temperature and that the 3.2L was calibrated for the higher temperature. Anyone have any definitive data on this issue?

The 88C t-stat in the pic I posted was the original that came out of my 95 3.0 MTX. As I mentioned, there's only one part number (with two revs, the later of which solved the acid failure problem, not a temperature change) for the SHO V6. If anybody can produce a pic of an OEM t-stat that says anything other than 88C or an alternative part number OEM spec'ed for the V6 SHO then that's a good data point, but I've seen neither. See also Gary M's original notes on the t-stats on shotimes.