MotoRad Fail-Safe Thermostats - worth the extra cost??

[Mr.cant-find-his-10.5-mm]

Went to the parts store today and asking for a thermostat. They gave me a regular thermostat, cost around $10 and a motorad fail-safe thermostat, cost around $20. I end up with the fail-safe thermostat thinking it's still cheaper than a head gasket.

Here is the link to the thermostats I bought: https://motorad.com/products/fail-safe-thermostats/

Notice that they mention "once the fail-safe thermostat has locked in the open position, it cannot be used again and must be replaced". I'm a bit worried about it will kick into fail-safe mode under normal driving. Any thoughts?

 

[JMJNet]

For what car make model?

 

[Mr.cant-find-his-10.5-mm]

Originally Posted by JMJNet
For what car make model?

My 95 Chevy ck

 

[Drosselmier]

You will know when it doesn't warm up quickly that it is fully open. time to replace. eh

 

[Chris142]

Those fail safe ones are garbage. If the engine gets up to about 220f which is still in the normal operating range the stat will stick open. Plan on replacing it again this summer.

They stick open at higher engine temps. Not if the thermostat sticks. They can still stick shut.

 

[Supersonic]

I bought 2 spare MotoRad Fail-Safe Thermostats after my 2005 Camry thermostat failed in the closed position. Temp gauge read about 3/4 high, luckily I caught it right away before it way overheated, had my inexpensive replacement in the trunk so I was able to change out as soon as I got to a safe place. My Sienna has the same thermostat, so that one will get the fail-safe when I replace the coolant this summer.

And then I also cut out the center of the old one and got a new gasket to stick around it so at least if I ever got stuck again with a closed thermostat I had something to put in there so coolant would flow and I wouldn't be stranded.

 

[Warstud]

I put two on my Blazer. The first one I installed ran cold immediately so I took it back and got another. The second one worked right for a couple a months then it too ran cold.

 

[cos]

While I do change coolant often I have never had a thermostat fail.

 

[joegreen]

I bought a failsafe for my 78 Chevy pickup. It sucked, it failed open if the engine got any hotter than operating temp. You actually can reset them if they stick open. I put a normal thermostat in and never looked back

 

[Trav]

Don't waste your money on one, they are genuine crap. Use an OE thermostat from the dealer, you cant go wrong.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I've had the fail safe thermostats fail open much quicker than the OE ones fail closed.

 

[mattd]

They are junk. As said buy one from the dealer

 

[Rand]

Thermostat is one part I would go OEM only..

almost all aftermarket are somewhere between total junk and vastly inferior.

 

[GZRider]

OEM, Stant or Gates for thermostats.

 

[StevieC]

I wouldn't use Motorad anything. Complete garbage. Use OEM only IMO for such an important part of the vehicle that can cause catastrophic failure if it doesn't function right.

 

[Mr.cant-find-his-10.5-mm]

Thanks guys. So I went back to the parts store today and exchange for a Gates premium thermostat. Was going after a Stant after all the good reviews on the internet but they don't have any. Hope this one will last as long as their serpentine belts.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Originally Posted by StevieC
I wouldn't use Motorad anything. Complete garbage. Use OEM only IMO for such an important part of the vehicle that can cause catastrophic failure if it doesn't function right.


The Mopar Tstat for my Liberty is Motorad...the factory one was too that I took out. Although they might spec something way better for OEM than what Motorad sells under their own name.

 

[wings&wheels]

Great concept, execution...not so much. They do 'fail safe' open though. I had one lock open on my TR6 without any noticeable overheat. I think they set the 'safe' point to conservatively.


I went to a Stant Superstat which, while I didn't but it for the reduced cycling feature (I just wanted a top quality 'stat, and NAPA had one on the shelf), does seem to reduce spikes somewhat. The TR has a mechanical gauge that reacts pretty quickly.