trermostats
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Senior User
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: houma, louisiana
trermostats
my question is. what is so awful about the napa thermostats? and after changing the thermostat the top radiator hose doesnt get hard any more, is this normal? i also unfroze the little ball in the thermo housing.
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From: houma, louisiana
that still doesnt answer my question, what is so awfull about the napa thermostat? what makes it so unbearable to have? is it because they just dont last, because they all dont last forever thats the reason im changing out the factory stat now, its a mechanical part its going to give out sooner or later. if they lasted forever than the stealerships & autopart stores would go under.
i ain't rite
Joined: Mar 2005
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From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.
most aftermarket t-stats just plain don't work in a ford diesel. there is no strange fancy reason for using a ford or international unit. they just work where others don't.
if you got a t-stat from napa that works, you are very lucky. 99.99% of the vehicles that have had an aftermarket unit put in overheated.
if you got a t-stat from napa that works, you are very lucky. 99.99% of the vehicles that have had an aftermarket unit put in overheated.
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From: houma, louisiana
i kind of thought so spectra, you know some like honda and some like yamaha. but they all have problems.
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i ain't rite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 65,481
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From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.
my local napa and other big parts houses stopped selling t-stats for the fords because they were tired of getting them back as "defective". if you come in asking for one, they tell you to go to the ford dealer.
as far as my napa goes, they have sold at least 50 t-stats for ford diesels, and every single one of them came back as no good cause the trucks overheated.
as far as my napa goes, they have sold at least 50 t-stats for ford diesels, and every single one of them came back as no good cause the trucks overheated.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Manitoba
j tate ........does the one from NAPA look like the one you removed........ What PSI rad cap do you have.....is it working correctly.
Spec ....it's not a story it's printed right in the service/shop manual and confirmed by thousands of members on this and other sites.
The one point I try to advise is any info posted here should be able to be proven, so if you have an aftermarket Tstat that works what is the part number and where did you get it......
I have heard there MAY be an aftermarket one that will work, I do not have the # or who sells or makes it.....
The hose getting hard is a normal fact of life since coolant does expand, most rad caps are 13psi, but lower psi ones will allow pressure to bleed off into the overflow tank possibly causing a less hard hose??????
PS to check your upper coolant manifold check ball for operation, squeeze and release the upper hose (cold) you should here the ball rattle/tinkle in the manifold.
I don't know where that story came from
The one point I try to advise is any info posted here should be able to be proven, so if you have an aftermarket Tstat that works what is the part number and where did you get it......
I have heard there MAY be an aftermarket one that will work, I do not have the # or who sells or makes it.....
The hose getting hard is a normal fact of life since coolant does expand, most rad caps are 13psi, but lower psi ones will allow pressure to bleed off into the overflow tank possibly causing a less hard hose??????
PS to check your upper coolant manifold check ball for operation, squeeze and release the upper hose (cold) you should here the ball rattle/tinkle in the manifold.
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From: houma, louisiana
the thermostat is working perfect, it doesnt look nothing like the factory one i took out. it is taller and has rubber coating on it. radiator cap is a 13lbs cap(also new), check valve in housing has been serviced. the one i put in is part#385-190 from napa.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Dec 2006
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I've seen the same recommendation against aftermarket Thermostats for my Mazda RX-7.
Stant is a rather large manufacturer of thermostats, radiator caps, and other caps used in automotive applications.
For some reason they just don't measure up to the spec of the manufacturer. Either they're missing a little air bleed pin or don't quite fit into the physical dimentions of the original part, or just don't quite react the same as the stock part.
For such a crucial part of the cooling system and one that if it fails could cost you a set of head gaskets, I'd rather not chance it. (In the case of my Mazda RX-7, it doesn't have heads. Overheating and damaging a coolant seal means an engine rebuild.)
Stant is a rather large manufacturer of thermostats, radiator caps, and other caps used in automotive applications.
For some reason they just don't measure up to the spec of the manufacturer. Either they're missing a little air bleed pin or don't quite fit into the physical dimentions of the original part, or just don't quite react the same as the stock part.
For such a crucial part of the cooling system and one that if it fails could cost you a set of head gaskets, I'd rather not chance it. (In the case of my Mazda RX-7, it doesn't have heads. Overheating and damaging a coolant seal means an engine rebuild.)
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Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Monroe, WA
The stat in mine is from Napa. It's nothing special, I did go with a 180* because I was going down to Arizona on vacation in June (02). It ran perfect in 110* weather with the A/C cranked going uphill. 
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 477
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From: florida
last year i had 2 thermostats go bad. one from napa and one from autozone. each failed within 2 months. i went to ford and plunked down my 28.00 and fot a ford thermostat. its been there a year. you figure. if the last for you good, then buy them, but no more fior me.
Last edited by harleyjohn45; Dec 23, 2006 at 11:41 PM.
