Inline thermostat, 2 years so far

[Vossy]

So two years ago my oem thermostat failed yet again so I decided to go for the inline mod and while I was working on the car at the time I also completely removed the old thermostat from the housing as they just twist out anyway.
I used a Gates thermostat from I think a Renault 5, 1.4 engine ... unsure exactly but it worked perfectly, a very warm 90 degrees most of the time or a steady 86/87 degrees on the motorway.
Now two years in it looks like the Gates one has failed, 82 degrees is the best it reaches now.
I know Gates are supposed to be the best but does anyone have any thoughts on other makes of thermostat aside from Gates?

Thanks.

[T-Cut]

The three first recommendations for this are stats branded FirstLine, Gates and Wahler (in no particular order). The reasoning is they're fully watertight until the valve begins to open. That's vital for a successful result.


TC

[Vossy]

Originally Posted by T-Cut

The three first recommendations for this are stats branded FirstLine, Gates and Wahler (in no particular order). The reasoning is they're fully watertight until the valve begins to open. That's vital for a successful result.


TC

Thanks, that's why I fitted Gates from the outset, failing at 2 years isn't so bad when it's a 30 minute job end to end unlike changing the original

[Arctic]

Originally Posted by Vossy

So two years ago my oem thermostat failed yet again so I decided to go for the inline mod and while I was working on the car at the time I also completely removed the old thermostat from the housing as they just twist out anyway.
I used a Gates thermostat from I think a Renault 5, 1.4 engine ... unsure exactly but it worked perfectly, a very warm 90 degrees most of the time or a steady 86/87 degrees on the motorway.

Hi Steve.
Over what mileage is the 82c reaching also have you felt the bottom hose after lets say a 10 mile run, have you left the car ticking over to see what temp it reaches on the OBD, some can go open but i have only heard of a few.

[Odd Job]

I have a Firstline one in mine. I fitted it around August last year. So far so good.
It sounds like it's still doing a bit of something, as it's still getting into the early 80's, when i did mine the gauge wasn't even getting to the quarter mark on the dashboard.

[Vossy]

Originally Posted by Arctic

Hi Steve.
Over what mileage is the 82c reaching also have you felt the bottom hose after lets say a 10 mile run, have you left the car ticking over to see what temp it reaches on the OBD, some can go open but i have only heard of a few.

Hi Steve, went on a 60 mile round trip yesterday, all 70mph +, I used the obd on the way there, 82 degrees max including a good hill, when off at the slip within a quarter mile the temp reads 78/79.
Ticking over it reaches 81/82 but not higher, it did used to get to 90 at first, last summer in traffic the obd did read102 but the fan kicked in and down it went.
It has a new rad recently so no water problems. For the cost I might just replace the stat. And, at least it’s a quick job.


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[Mike Trident]

Mines been working fine for 3 1/2 years, perhaps you have just been unlucky.

[Vossy]

Originally Posted by Mike Trident

Mines been working fine for 3 1/2 years, perhaps you have just been unlucky.

Hi Mike, that sounds like my luck 😂


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[markypicks]

fitted mine about 14 months ago so far so good rgds mark

[clf]

Originally Posted by Vossy

Hi Steve, went on a 60 mile round trip yesterday, all 70mph +, I used the obd on the way there, 82 degrees max including a good hill, when off at the slip within a quarter mile the temp reads 78/79.
Ticking over it reaches 81/82 but not higher, it did used to get to 90 at first, last summer in traffic the obd did read102 but the fan kicked in and down it went.
It has a new rad recently so no water problems. For the cost I might just replace the stat. And, at least it’s a quick job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have fitted a few of these now to my car. The highest that the Gates went to for me was 84. It was an 86 degree thermostat (I believe the discrepancy is down the inline location). The firstline was the worst, had 3 of these, all 86s , the highest they got was 82 under normal use. (I think I damaged the first one fitting it, and it would never go beyond 80 on its first cycle, and then 78 thereafter - the second was 82, but it had a serious amount of leak by).

Wahler do a 92 degree version, but I have yet to see it at a reasonable price. I have an 89 degree version (3029.89) and temperature is always around the 86-88 range once warmed up, and I think I fitted that one 4 or 5 years ago now. I have the digital temp display fitted in my console, to monitor the temp.