What is wrong with all my thermostats?

[The4bangertj]

my 2.5 seems to do this every year. This is year 4 now. Blows warm and my dash says it’s lower than it should be. Years before I just swap the thermostat and then I have hot air again but by the time winter comes around it’s back to being warm. Why do I have to replace thermostats every year?
Here is what it’s doing right now. Temp is at 177. It gets up to temp very fast so I know the thermostat isn’t open.
I’ve flushed the heater core every year too and it doesn’t get much and never changes anything but swapping the thermostat always does.
Do I need to swap it again?

 

[macleanflood]

Get a Robert Shaw sourced from Flowkooler and be done with it.

I think the 2.5 uses the same one as the 4.0.

-Mac

 

[WV Native]

My Jeep eats thermostats too. Not nearly as often as yours but enough I’ve tried just about every brand out there.

 

[The4bangertj]

Glad this isn’t uncommon bc was going crazy.
Thanks Mac, I’ll get that thermostat.

 

[Edgar Marton]

my 2.5 seems to do this every year. This is year 4 now. Blows warm and my dash says it’s lower than it should be. Years before I just swap the thermostat and then I have hot air again but by the time winter comes around it’s back to being warm. Why do I have to replace thermostats every year?
Here is what it’s doing right now. Temp is at 177. It gets up to temp very fast so I know the thermostat isn’t open.
I’ve flushed the heater core every year too and it doesn’t get much and never changes anything but swapping the thermostat always does.
Do I need to swap it again?

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I have the exact same problem. Two new thermostats a year... motoRad and Gates... constantly breaking down. I think the Robert Shawn ones from Flowkooler look good... does anyone have any other recommendations for a reliable thermostat? I didn't find anything decent at RockAuto. Greetings from Budapest, Edgar

 

[Gilaguy23]

Only comment I have is are doing lots of short trips? For whatever reason in multiple vehicles Ive owned over the years, short trips with what probably was not 100% warmed up, the thermo failed/stuck open. Didnt matter what make, new or old it happened.

 

[The4bangertj]

Only comment I have is are doing lots of short trips? For whatever reason in multiple vehicles Ive owned over the years, short trips with what probably was not 100% warmed up, the thermo failed/stuck open. Didnt matter what make, new or old it happened.

Nope. Atleast not short enough it’s never gotten up to temp. Always at least 15min drives and often longer.

 

[Moglocker]

I have the exact same problem. Two new thermostats a year... motoRad and Gates... constantly breaking down. I think the Robert Shawn ones from Flowkooler look good... does anyone have any other recommendations for a reliable thermostat? I didn't find anything decent at RockAuto. Greetings from Budapest, Edgar

my 2.5 seems to do this every year. This is year 4 now. Blows warm and my dash says it’s lower than it should be. Years before I just swap the thermostat and then I have hot air again but by the time winter comes around it’s back to being warm. Why do I have to replace thermostats every year?
Here is what it’s doing right now. Temp is at 177. It gets up to temp very fast so I know the thermostat isn’t open.
I’ve flushed the heater core every year too and it doesn’t get much and never changes anything but swapping the thermostat always does.
Do I need to swap it again?

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View attachment 658444

Just get a mopar from the Dealer,39.00 but you’ll never have to deal with it.just make sure the hole is at 12 o’clock

 

[JKP]

And in that MOPAR box will be... a MOTORAD.

 

[Moglocker]

And in that MOPAR box will be... a MOTORAD.

They were in a mopar bag quantity(2)I bought em both,still have the other,that was 5 years ago,it works great!I wouldn’t mind trying the flowkooler,but these have worked flawlessly for me.

 

[The4bangertj]

Last time I went to a dealership for a part they literally laughed in my face and said we don’t have a single part of those jeeps anymore.

 

[JKP]

They were in a mopar bag quantity(2)I bought em both,still have the other,that was 5 years ago,it works great!

I'll repeat, you go get a "MOPAR" thermostat today, and in the box will be a MOTORAD thermostat.

Multiple reports on this forum of that.

 

[mrblaine]

I'll repeat, you go get a "MOPAR" thermostat today, and in the box will be a MOTORAD thermostat.

Multiple reports on this forum of that.

And I'll repeat to you that anyone who believes they are the exact same doesn't understand a fucking thing about manufacturing, QC, or binning. I'll repeat it again and if you want to learn something, you can dig up the How It's Made video on YT about oil pressure sensors to watch it show exactly what I'm about to say.

Every manufacturer of parts like this for the OEM run them through their QC process to determine how close to the design spec they are. Those that meet specs go into Bin 1. The next group that are slightly out of spec, go into Bin 2, so on and so far until the part gets far enough away from spec to be a reject.

OEM gets Bin 1 parts, the lesser spec get bought by folks who package them for Duralast, Bubba, and so on depending on price point.

This is the same shit that they do with the LED emitters that go in the light bars. Rigid, Baja Design, and similar high quality manufacturers are not buying and using the Binned parts that are several tiers removed from design spec, the folks making and selling the 120 dollar 48" light bar that the top level folks are getting a grand for.

Lest we forget, GM made and sold Corvettes and Chevettes in the same year. They are not the same, never will be the same.

My experience is based on using many dozens of Mopar thermostats without a single failure over the last 17 years. 100% and that is nothing to sneeze at in today's world of questionable part quality.

 

[Moglocker]

And I'll repeat to you that anyone who believes they are the exact same doesn't understand a fucking thing about manufacturing, QC, or binning. I'll repeat it again and if you want to learn something, you can dig up the How It's Made video on YT about oil pressure sensors to watch it show exactly what I'm about to say.

Every manufacturer of parts like this for the OEM run them through their QC process to determine how close to the design spec they are. Those that meet specs go into Bin 1. The next group that are slightly out of spec, go into Bin 2, so on and so far until the part gets far enough away from spec to be a reject.

OEM gets Bin 1 parts, the lesser spec get bought by folks who package them for Duralast, Bubba, and so on depending on price point.

This is the same shit that they do with the LED emitters that go in the light bars. Rigid, Baja Design, and similar high quality manufacturers are not buying and using the Binned parts that are several tiers removed from design spec, the folks making and selling the 120 dollar 48" light bar that the top level folks are getting a grand for.

Lest we forget, GM made and sold Corvettes and Chevettes in the same year. They are not the same, never will be the same.

My experience is based on using many dozens of Mopar thermostats without a single failure over the last 17 years. 100% and that is nothing to sneeze at in today's world of questionable part quality.

Well said and 100% correct.

 

[JKP]

As a former engineer in aerospace electronics, I definitely understand quality and parts qualification.

I also know that MOPAR is supplying junk Chinesium coils for YJs, etc that use the old single coil ignition system. And the current 05, 06 TJ MOPAR cam sensor is junk as well, it is not the same as the original one.

Definitely not paying 40 bucks for a MOTORAD MOPAR when you can get a Robertshaw for 30.

 

[macleanflood]

Other tricky thing about quality binning is new vehicles. Tier 1 goes to manufacturing. Tier 2 goes for OEM branded replacement parts. T3 gets sold off to top tier brands and T4 goes for bargain parts.

Typically once a vehicle is out of production the parts are outsourced to the cheapest supplier. And in many cases OEM becomes a tier 3 or 4 part. Really depends on corporate decisions and I'd make a good bet Stellantis doesn't give a damn about older vehicles (or the new ones for that matter.)

-Mac

 

[JKP]

That is the problem, our TJs were made before the bankruptcy. JKs got replacement gas tanks for the spit back issue, TJs got notihing.

I don't know exactly when the MOTORADs started showing up in MOPAR boxes, but I believe it was fairly recently, so I don't know how much history is out there on the MOPAR boxed ones.

Probably after MORORAD bought Stant.

 

[Moglocker]

That is the problem, our TJs were made before the bankruptcy. JKs got replacement gas tanks for the spit back issue, TJs got notihing.

I don't know exactly when the MOTORADs started showing up in MOPAR boxes, but I believe it was fairly recently, so I don't know how much history is out there on the MOPAR boxed ones.

Probably after MORORAD bought Stant.

 

[JKP]

It will look like this if MOTORAD:

Pic stolen from Cherokee forum.

 

[Moglocker]

It will look like this if MOTORAD:

View attachment 664019

Pic stolen from Cherokee forum.

Yep looks like the one I installed in2020 ish it works flawlessly so far.still have a spare.still would like to try a flowkooler,but it’s not leaking so won’t be messing with it,so is the flowkooler more stable,the mopar is pretty stable as far as doing the same thing all the time.