davocol

Hey guys I think my thermostat seal has gone, Is it worth replacing the whole thing or should I just get the seal. Also how much will it cost for both or either. Ed Fairmont by the way.

Thanks heaps.

David

BRING_BACK_XF

I just changed my thermostat - it cost me $13 and it included a gasket. For that price you may as well just change it anyway.

I put silicone on both sides of the gasket.

My engine runs cooler now as it was a cooler thermostat.

xced

im worried that I dont even have a thermostat...
on a cold night my XD wont even get over 1/2 bars in the XD guage (it has like... 14 bars or something...) and I dont even have a fan on it !!!
not even warm enough to get the heater warm enough to make hot air :( brrrr

whats the disadvantages of having no thermostat

Jase_ELXR8

Engine will run at erractic tempratures, which in time will modify the properties of your oil turning it into sludge quicker. Crap heater.... there's a few more, just stuck in a brain freeze at the moment.

EDFUTURA

I only ever tried running a car without the thermostat once - that was in my 5.0 VC SLE Commodore - the result was actually very high temps and it would boil when going up hills etc. - I figured that the water was flowing around too fast or some such thing (ie. not enough time in the radiator to give up heat properly). Always much better to fit a thermostat.

As a matter of interest, an engine runs more effectively and theoretically makes more power the hotter it runs - how many times have you heard people say that their engine felt great just before it seized - an extreme case but it illustrates my point. For that reason it's probably best not to just jump into the idea of a "cooler" thermostat unless you have specific issues to deal with (like overheating). It's odd that people will scratch for a few Kw by fitting filters and exhaust and then throw power away (not to mention fuel) by running the engine too cool.

One time after having my ED's cooling system serviced by a radiator place I found it to be a pig to drive - with odd things happening with the transmission shifting and crook idle etc. - I asked a Ford service mechanic I knew about this and he immediately asked if the service seemed to have worked. I said yes it has because the temp on the guage is noticeably lower - he then pointed out that they had almost certainly put a cooler thermostat in - which was causing the problem. I phoned them and they confirmed that they had fitted a cooler thermostat - so I bought another OEM one of the correct type and fitted it and presto problem fixed.

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BRING_BACK_XF

I replaced my 92deg thermostat with an 80deg one. The old one was cactus but maybe I should have gone for another 92deg.

As a matter of fact, the repco lady gave me the 80deg, I didn't ask for it. She was going on about how important it is to have the right temperature and all that, because I considered running no thermostat. Then I was shocked to see it was different anyway.

What's the right temperature thermostat for an XF EFI? I guess it's in the Gregory's, I'll have a look.

EDFUTURA

If you've fitted it and the car's running ok I wouldn't panic - the stuff I mentioned is all worth keeping mind is all.

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IT'LL GO OR IT'LL BLOW!!!

xced

hmm... my car seems to have a fair bit more power when its nice and cold, probably because of where the airfilter is tho... (sucking in hot air)

davocol

Well I bought my 14 dollar thermostat and seal from kmart tonight, Its a tridon and I think is 92degrees or similar. Anyway everything seems well now and the car is driving without a leak. Thanks for all your advice. Very helpful as always :)

V8 Ghia Mike

I have actually had a thermostat self destruct in both my old Clevo XD and my EF 5.0! The pin which holds the spring and allows the valve to slide up and down jumps out of it's mount.

In the XD, it jammed shut after a fuel stop on a trip. I only noticed things were getting hot after squeezing the foot down 10ks later to overtake at 130km/h and the 302 started pinging! After a quick shutdown, I have never heard water hammer through a cooling system like it in my life! The motor survived, but I think it was due to the Slick 50 treatment for sure.

The EF was overheating in traffic and hot days due to a thermostat stuck OPEN. I took off the housing and it was in several pieces!

EFI cars definitely need to run at a stable temperature. My $0.02 worth.

Mike

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