Thermostat

[Roadster]

I stand corrected on the Gates thermostat order, I ordered that unit from Rock Auto and it was delivered today. I think it was their last one in stock. In the following pics there is one Stant stat, which I have had after I purchased the Z. And the other stat is the Gates unit. To me, they are just about identical, with a very slight variation of the thickness of the two coils, and the amount of winding in said coils. They both have the gasket (also with a slight variation), they are both are stamped USA, and 44.MM. Also have same manufacturing markings (I assume) on each one. I would also assume that these were made for both the Stant and Gates product line, with a very slight variation to distinguish the different companies from one another....There is another Stant stat to be delivered on Friday from the Pepboys online store. So we shall see, also will be interesting to see what Cliff gets delivered...

LS Stant...RS Gates

[Dynomite]

Thank you Sir........I will do some testing for opening temp, full open area, and bottom release pressure. Maybe tomarrow.

The two lower springs seem a bit different in your photo but nothing like the difference Marc found when he got one or two with several others that had less than 5 lbs bottom spring opening pressure at .5" opening.

I am shooting for 180 deg Thermostat opening at 175 deg and full open at 185 deg with .785 square inch full opening.



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[Roadster]

Originally Posted by Dynomite

take a photo of other end. I will do the same testing for opening temp, full open area, and bottom release pressure. Maybe tomarrow.



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Either your reading my mind, or I'm reading yours...... That's exactly what I was doing after I posted.....lol
Upon further investigation, you will notice in the following pics, that each stat has the words "TOP RAD" on one side under the gasket and "PATENTED" on the other side...interesting.....also take note of markings on the gasket from Stant and no markings on the gasket from Gates....and the rotation of the coils are L to R on one and R to L on the other on the bottom set of coils....
Yes, I know, I have way too much time......lol ahhh being retired.....lol
Oh, and one more thing, the Gates gasket is ever so slightly thicker and wider than the Stant gasket, covers the stat slightly more...

[Dynomite]

I will try to keep up with you tomarrow

I think the full open area of thermostat is approximately .785 square inches and a 1-1/2 inch hose has an area of about 1.75 square inches and radiator head loss might be minimal for aluminum radiator but guessing. Thermostat seems to be hold up on coolant flow even when wide open. one way to check that is to remove thermostat on 100 deg day but that is not possible without removing the radiator Bypass Function also which would not be a good idea. Removing the thermostat would allow the bypass function to be completely open at all times bypassing the radiator with considerable coolant flow.



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[Roadster]

Just received delivery a few minutes ago for the Stant stat from the PepBoys online store. Some interesting notations....the box is smaller, the box does say Made In America, but the stat does not. So is just the box Made In America and not the stat??? On the stat itself, it does not have USA or 44.MM stamped on the top as the other two have stamped. But it does have the "manufacturing" markings stamped on the top . And it also has
"TOP RAD" & "PATENTED" stamped in the same places as the others. But again I would question where it is really made!!! And the lower spring coil is the same as the previous Stant stat and is rotated in the same direction, as mentioned above. Overall they look identical, and the spring pressure on all 3 units feels basically the same. I don't think that anyone using any of the ones shown here would be a problem.
So my conclusion is yes these are still available from different sources and it would be a good idea to maybe purchase 1 or 2 for the future. JMO
There may be ebay sellers who have or don't have the correct part in the box, even though the correct part # is listed on their listing(s), either for the Stant or Gates units.
Another side note is that the gasket being used is very close to or exactly the same gasket that is on the Gates stat and not looking like anywhere near the older Stant stat shown above in a previous post.

[Dynomite]

The thermostat did not arrive....it was registry membership kit

Do you have one of those cooking thermometers ?

I use one of those in a soup pan with thermostats in water on the stove and keep the fire on the pan watching for opening and complete opening. I then heat it up a bit more so the opening stays while I measure the opening (which is not so easy but can be done).

I assume all your thermostats are rated 180 deg? It would be interesting testing the opening temperature and full open temperature as well as the full opening area which I will do on the Summit Thermostat.

Also what are the sources and associated prices including shipping for your new thermostats and shipping time?

The used Stants tested so far would be fully open with a flow area of approximately .785 square inches at 185 deg F.



Thermostat opening at 175 deg F....................................Thermostat opening at 185 deg F (Full Open)

[Roadster]

Just asked my wife for the cooking thermometer, we may have one, but she don't know if it still works....
And yes all of the stats are the 180 degree units. If we can find the cooking thermo and if it works lol, I can also check temps for opening and complete opening.
IIRC the FSM mentioned that the stat opens partially @180 degrees and fully opens at 195-200 degrees. I see that you are finding that they open partially @175*.

First Stant 14068 180* ordered 3 years ago, would have to look up cost....

Gates #33068 180* from Rock Auto (last one)
Cost..........................$14.01
Cost other part.............$4.04
Shipping......................$3.99
Total..........................$22.04
ordered 3-31 delivered 4-5

Stant #14068 180* from PepBoys online store which was through ebay
Cost.........................$16.19 USD
Shipping and handling $5.00 USD
Tax.......................... $1.28 USD
Total shipped.............$22.47 USD
ordered 4-3 delivered 4-6

notice that both part #'s end in the #68.......

[Livin' in the 80's]

OK. Here is the deal. I changed the thermostat today. It was way easier than I thought. The housing is against the frame and is easily accessed from the bottom. I drained exactly two gallons and about 6 ounces out when I pulled apart the thermostat housing. I used a shallow tote and poured the antifreeze into containers to measure what came out. The pain was the spring kept the thermostat out about a 1/8" when installing. There is a problem with the thermostat that I pulled out. Can you see the problem?

Can't believe they ripped out the upper spring.


Here are some pics of the housing from underneath.





I used a Tote



Here she is cleaned up at the lake.

[Roadster]

Originally Posted by Livin' in the 80's

OK. Here is the deal. I changed the thermostat today. It was way easier than I thought. The housing is against the frame and is easily accessed from the bottom. I drained exactly two gallons and about 6 ounces out when I pulled apart the thermostat housing. I used a shallow tote and poured the antifreeze into containers to measure what came out. The pain was the spring kept the thermostat out about a 1/8" when installing. There is a problem with the thermostat that I pulled out. Can you see the problem?

Can't believe they ripped out the upper spring.

Wow, they did some serious surgery on that stat....
Good idea with the tote and great pics....
And I assume the engine is running just fine!!!

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by Livin' in the 80's

The pain was the spring kept the thermostat out about a 1/8" when installing.That is what the putty knife is for There is a problem with the thermostat that I pulled out. Can you see the problem?Yes......you have a nice gasket on the old thermostat and no gasket on the new thermostat

That is what I call a FAILED Thermostat. It appears the thermostat was open all the time and further.....the lower spring pressure to keep from recirculating was near zero.