I ordered a few items online recently. I considered including a new thermostat in the order. Two values appear, 180 and 195 degree stats.

I look around to see see various opinions on which temp. to use. I gather the 195 is the factory spec so I had to wonder if going to the 180
would cause problems with the lack of reaching full temp the puter may be looking for?

 

A lower thermostat won't really help with anything. In the past some would add a lower thermostat because cooling was nowhere near as good as it is today and it would add some extra thermal headroom. Just stick with the stock 195. 180 wont hurt anything but lower than that might affect performance.

 

I think the computer will also whine about the 180 thermostat... Engine too cold too long, or some such.

 

Surprisingly my 2000 with a 5.9 doesn't ever through that code for some reason despite it having a 160 degree t-stat for the last year. Made the engine run worse though. I would be surprised if the 01 and up didn't though.

 

Go with factory, that will make the computer happy. It will run better, have more power since the computer is flashed for that temperature which will make the computer happy, and will run better with better fuel economy which will make you happy.

 

So now after reading several posts in various places Im wondering now what brand stat to avoid. That MotoRad seems to be getting questionable comments
and Ive seen chatter this brands name is showing up stamped on stats from other MFR brands. Its too big of a pain to replace and even more having a stat fail
is not good at all if it fails shut.

Are fail safe stats a gimmick or worthwhile to install?

 

The Fail Safe thermostat is good in theory. In practice, they are a waste of money. Every SINGLE one I've put in failed soon after. A couple of weeks to, in one case, two days. I've also worked on vehicles that had no heat that had one of these in them. I bought a truck that was getting 7 mpg (well, it was a 1 ton dually) and had no heat. It had a FS unit and after replacement, the heat was nearly unbearable when allowed to run full blast for a bit and mileage went up to 12 mpg. Stay with a regular unit. They work fine, have for decades and the only thing to look for is a jiggle (<-----seriously, that's what it's called) valve to let air bleed through. If it doesn't have one, most do, I drill a 3/64 hole in the sealing plate.

 

I've had a Stant Superstat Premium for many years and miles with no issues. Went to look them up and it seems they've been purchased by MotorRad then disbanded. Too bad as they're a great thermostat. Good thing is, it was just this year so you can still find them for sale online. May pick up a few myself.

 

So you're saying Stant is gone for good or simply MotoRad making the parts now branded as Stant?
I have seen several comments of other brands having the MotoRad name stamped in the part.

Its been a long time since Ive had to do any basic or extensive auto work. Its rather frustrating where
parts reliability is highly questionable now.

When the stat in on the top side of the engine gives minimal coolant removal but this one is on the bottom
of the block creating a lot of coolant removal to replace a stat. Seems a bit backwards.

 

My suggestion is, don't buy online. Go to the auto parts store and ask for a Stant Superstat. Open it up and if it doesn't say Made in USA by Stant, hand it back. Better yet, call and ask them to do that.