JTS thermostat WTF

Started by colcol, May 10, 2012, 08:58:49 PM

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colcol

JTS and twin spark thermostats, Whats The Fault?, i don't consider thermostats as consumables, unlike filters and brake pads that wear out, here goes, when JTS was 6 years old, it was running a bit cold, would sit on 90c in traffic, but on freeway and suburbs, would run at about 75c, read about these problems on this Forum, so decided to change it, new one ran much better, heated up quicker and sat at a constant 90c, however lately, it has been back to the usual running too cold, so i decided to get a new thermostat, the original thermostat was a genuine Alfa BEHR, made in Italy, the second one from The Spare Place in Adelaide was a genuine Alfa BEHR, made in Italy, so i decided on another brand, because i figured, it couldn't last any less, so i purchased a FACET non genuine, made in Italy, from The Spare Place, it didn't have the sensor, like the genuine Alfa ones do, so i took the sensor out of the old stat and put it in the new stat, immediately i noticed a difference, warmed up quicker sat on 90c on the freeway and round the burbs, but in traffic, sat on about 95c, the hottest it ever run, but no drama, as i cleaned the sensor, when i took it out, so lack of corrosion on it, made it read more accurate, the costs of these, genuine from The Spare Place, about $150, 3 years ago, non genuine Facet about $90, last week, from The Spare Place, i was told that a Genuine Alfa Romeo thermostat from an Australian dealer is about $350, the thermostats for 147's and 156's are in a housing, with a sensor, with about 4 pipe outlets running of it, so its not just the stat on its own, Colin.
1974 VW Passat [ist car] 1984 Alfa 33TI [daily driver] 2002 Alfa 156 JTS [daily driver]

ANG156

Gourd to know colin. But what if your sensors are stuffed in the original thermostat can you buy the from the spare place on their own? At least now I know which brand to buy when it needs changing. Mine currently has the same symptons as yours.

colcol

#2
Het ANG156, i have seen the sensors for sale somewhere on ebay, i am quite happy to buy a new thermostat with new sensor installed, the object of the exercise was to see if the non genuine, but known brands are any more robust than the Genuine Alfa Romeo BEHR brand, and i didn't mention in the original post, that i intended to check all 3 thermostats by 'cooking' them in a big pan on the hotplate, but when i looked at the engine bay there were pink stains indicating coolant leakage.....which led to leaking thermostat, coming out from top radiator hose to thermostat, where the plastic outlet is inserted into the thermostat housing, so it was a no brainer, just replace the whole thing, pretty poor, when the genuine thermostat leaks after 3 years, amazing how some cars consume thermostats, my old VW neede d a new stat about every 8 years, the 33 needed a new stat after the ham fisted owner broke it taking it out, [it was cold welded in], then 25 years later replaced the genuine Alfa stat, [which was still working], with a 72c instead of the 82c, to stop it overheating, Colin.
1974 VW Passat [ist car] 1984 Alfa 33TI [daily driver] 2002 Alfa 156 JTS [daily driver]

ANG156

Hi Colin, i scanned my car with my dad's scan tool and has come up with the following error: P0115 Water temperature sensor. I'm gonna put another one from a wreck i have and see how it goes. If it doesn't help then its a new thermostat.

colcol

I know that the JTS and twin spark thermostats are different, i don't know whats different, maybe the JTS's run hotter to decrease fuel consumption?, good selection of thermostats on the Web and Ebay, Colin.
1974 VW Passat [ist car] 1984 Alfa 33TI [daily driver] 2002 Alfa 156 JTS [daily driver]