328 Thermostat

Greetings FChatters. I need to change the Thermostat on my '89 328. Does anyone know if there is an alternative (but identical) part that can be used (i.e. its the same part used in Fiat/Alfa/Volvo/VW/GM xyz etc etc) or do I really need to go & pay Ferrari 75 quid for the thing?

Iain

 

Thanks very much for the replies. I'm going to try one of Daniel's t'stats which he has very kindly offered to send over to the UK. I may not get it changed for a week or two - much too cold to be outside working on cars at the moment (trying to snow again today)! I promise to report back once its in & done though.

Procedure looks fairly straightforward - its the kind of thing I've done on numerous other cars before - but not the 328. I understand where the bleed screws are on the stat housing & the radiator - but any other tips or "gotchas" to be aware of on the process gratefully received.

rgds

I.

 

Update:

Daniel sent over the T'stat which I have installed today - got a new gasket & O-ring from F-UK for which they charged me about £6.50 for the parts - and then £4.50 for postage (bless them!)

SO, as promised, here's what happened when I fitted the T'stat that Daniel very kindly sent me

The Stat Daniel sent me is of a slightly different design but fundamentally the same size & shape. Having taken the stat out the car I suspended them both in a pan of water & heated it - there is no doubt the original T'stat was opening much earlier than the one Daniel sent me & that opened well before the water boiled - all good so far.

Next I drilled a small hole in the flange to match the one that was in the original - this is an air bleed & so I though the thing ought to have it!

Fitting it proved to be a bit more of a headache - the main flange is/was slightly too large such that when fitted with the new O-ring it wouldn't sit down in the recess in the T-stat housing. 10 minutes judicious use of a flat file round the edge and a tiny smear of vaseline on the O ring fixed the problem.

Put everything back together & refilled with the coolant I'd taken out the system & topped it up a bit more. Took some air out the T'stat & radiator bleed screws & ran the thing.

It ran fine, no leaks. Water temp started to climb & so I took it out for a run. On my water temp guage there are 5 marks - 140, a mark, 195, a mark & 250. The mark between 140 & 195 would theoretically be about 167 on the basis that its half way between the 140 & 195 marks.

Basically the car ran at that intermediate mark (167) no matter what I did with it. Took it for about 15 miles round some back roads & then up the motorway for 6 or 7 miles.

There is no doubt the temperature was a lot more stable than previously where it would sit around the same level but fluctuate a bit. Oil temp climbed to around 180 - so well short of the big "210" mark on the guage.

The immediate conclusion therefore was that I have a bad gauge or maybe a bad sender - then again the oil temp more or less corresponded with the water temp.....

However.....

When I got it home i let it sit at idle to see what would happen. The water temp started to climb fairly shortly afterwards. When it got to the 195 mark the electric fans came on (as they should) and the temp then started to fall back towards the intermediate mark.

As far as I know the fans come on at around the 190 mark so that would seem to indicate that my gauge & sender are actually OK.

So, there's no doubt the running water temperature is more stable than it was but the fact that the fans came on when they should suggests that the T'stat that Daniel very kindly sent me is perhaps not the right one because the water temp. is still running some way below where it should be at in general use (i.e. 195)

Next logical step would be to bite the bullet & go & buy a genuiine T'stat & see what happens with that.....unless anyone has any better ideas (?!)

If anyone can do it I'd be very interested to know what your temp gauge reads (on a 328!) when the electric fans kick in. Mine cut in at just on the 195 mark on my guage.

rgds

Iain

 

I think I may well be heading towards getting an OEM t'stat - its not that difficult to change & for peace of mind it looks like the sensible thing to do. I ordered a digital thermometer over the weekend with a probe on it to see if I can get some more accurate readings as to what the thing is running at & if that shows in the 160 range then I'll definitly change it again.

If you could spare me the time to run a small test, as per my previous post I'd be very interested to know what your temp gauges say (water and oil) during normal running & also what the water temp guage reads at the point that the the electric fans cut in if you leave the car stationary & idling for a while.


Thanks for your comments

Iain

 

Last update on this one:

My car is at QV having its valve clearances checked & cambelts changed so I had a long chat with the all knowing Mike Lester about running temps etc.

He says my running temp at the second mark on the guage on a 328 is basically spot on & that it shouldn't run at 195 - that's where the fans cut in (which they do). 308s will tend to run higher but 328s are much better cooled & so will tend to run lower. There is therefore nothing wrong with either the Thermostat or my temp sensor.

The Thermostat that Daniel sent me is still in the car and, as far as I can see (with the addition of the above information) is therefore working perfectly.

I went for 100 mile run in the car last weekend (almost all on the motorway) & the temperature never wavered.

Conclusion therefore is that the T'stats that Daniel has are good for a 328 except that they don't have the small vent hole in them which is very easy to add. The one I got was also a bit tight in the housing but this was easily remedied as well.

There's no doubt that my original T'stat was old & weak & needed changing - the car now warms up much quicker & the engine water temp is much more stable.

My thanks to all who've contributed thoughts to this thread & also to Daniel for sending me the 'stat.

rgds

Iain

 

Contact Daniel at Ricambi. If he still has any of the 'stats that he sent me that should work fine. You'll just need to drill the hole in it & possibly adjust it to fit as I did. You may or may not need to replace the O-ring & If you can't buy a gasket then it would be easy enough to make.

rgds

I.