[V8] thermostats ad nauseum

[Buchholz, Steven]

... I had a brand new Wahler t-stat purchased at a dealer fail within months of installation on my 88 5kCSQA.  The original Wahler failed in a way that allowed coolant to flow unrestricted (the strap that runs across the back of the unit broke) whereas the new one failed in the closed position, causing overheating.  I much preferred the former.  I think I opted for something other than Wahler for the replacement of the replacement ... 

The T-stat is located in the valley between the cylinder banks, but can be replaced fairly easily without having to access the timing belt area.  The only difficulty I've had is that the bolts tend to weld themselves in place ... probably dissimilar metals mixed with years of water ... but if yours was recently replaced this should not be an issue.  

BTW, I tried to save a bit of time when I did the t-stat on one of my cars and left the left coolant pipe attached to the head.  While doing the R&R on the t-stat I must have damaged the reinforcement of the hose ... my almost brand new upper coolant hose failed on that runner shortly thereafter ...

Steve B
San José, CA (USA)
> 
> The thermostat I got came from an impeccable and absolutely reliable
> source, so until this thread, I was saying it can't be the thermostat,
> its new, and you-know-who wouldn't be selling junk anyway.
> Unfortunately, I discarded the old thermostat so I can't just swap it
> back in to try it.