I hate stuck thermostats

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Dec 28, 2012
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I put a OEM Motorcraft thermostat in my truck a little over a year ago and it already failed. I bought a duralast branded OE temp to go back in i hope it last longer it is branded motorad. Not a fun job on a 302 with big hands and stubby wrenches.
 
Sucks. I put an OE one from the dealer on my truck two years ago. Hope it doesn’t go bad any time soon. The thermostat housing was a pain to seal back up.
 
Had a 2 y/o OEM thermostat that failed to fully open. Was shaking my head on why the truck was running hotter than usual and why the efans are having a hard time bringing the temps down.

Threw in another OEM thermostat which was made in Japan surprisingly and temps are back to normal.

I'm all for OE parts but having the OE replacement water pump fail then the t-stat fail a couple months down the road (wp and t-stat came as a complete kit) made me feel disappointed a lil bit.
 
It's frustrating that the OE thermostat failed already.

I have a NAPA branded thermostat in my truck at the moment. It seems to warm up very slow, but I think the cooling system needs some love too.
 
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I'll only use OE thermostats, I've had more problems with aftermarket including Stant and Robert Shaw. Even if Stant is making them for the OE market, I was told by a few well respected people and one very well respected member here there could be subtle differences. Bottom line for me it is only OE thermostats.
 
The OE stat for my jeep is awful. I put 3 in it before it had 50k on it. Went to the aftermarket and never looked back.

The o.p. has apparently never replaced one on a 3.1 gm.
 
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Originally Posted By: Chris142
The o.p. has apparently never replaced one on a 3.1 gm.

I was going to post "why don't you try a FWD van if you think that is difficult" LOL!
Old American V8s are not that bad until you have to do the rear main seal or oil pan.
 
Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
I only use marine stainless steel thermostats. Look for cross references from Volvo-Penta, Mercruiser, OMC, etc.

Why? I get that they are more corrosion resistant but what benefit do they have other than that? Are the rest of the components tougher?
 
Part was ordered through oreilly auto parts i couldn't find one locally accept at autozone. It is running at the temperature that it is suppose to.
 
Originally Posted By: sloinker
Sucks to replace a $5K engine over a $5 part.

For sure, and a bad $5 thermostat can take a $5K engine down.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Yet some people have to save a couple of bucks at any cost.

Yep. There are certain parts that OE is the only way to go. In my book thermostats and PCV valves are high on that list.
 
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