So I have been reading threads about aftermarket vs. Land Rover "Original" thermostats. Most state that if it is not a Land Rover Original... it sucks..


So I bought in.. and purchased a new low temp thermostat from Lucky 8. I am not throwing Lucky 8 "under the bus", they just sell the parts.


Mind you, I have had NONE, ZERO, NADA, issues with cooling.. I was just concerned that I had this "so called junk" aftermarket Thermostat.


I bought a new T-Stat from Lucky 8... I immediately installed it and was happy having an original part that came in a nice original "Land Rover" box.


I bled it properly... yes... I have read all the threads about bleeding and understand this.... And it performed worse than expected.


At highway speeds it cooled OK... 194 ish with the AC on with an 80 degree day.. Problem is, when I came to a stop (idle) the temperature would climb and climb and climb. It would keep climbing to 215, when I would put in neutral and rev the engine. It would then come back down in temp.


Everyone I talked to said to keep bleeding.. I must have air in the system.


After bleeding no less than 7 times over 5 days... there is NO AIR!!!


Luckily I kept my old thermostat and put it back in... Bled it once...!!! back to working perfect. Keeps temps 190 on highway, fast warm up for my heater, not increasing over 201 at idle for over 30 minutes with the AC on.


Has anyone had experiences like this or am I the only one???


BTW, I would have never known all this if I did not have an Ultrascan gauge...

 

Might be a bad thermostat. Have not tried them yet but I have been checking their website. Last time I purchased a thermostat was on ebay
LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 2 1999-2004 THERMOSTAT AND HOUSING SOFT 82C / 180 PEL500110 | eBay
Product seems solid to me and temperature went down apex. 10 degrees. Im ok with that.

 

It's like I tested once with a brand new OEM 190F unit it would cruise down the road at 200F, and then in traffic with the A/C on it would climb to 206F, but that's as high as it would go period.

Then I slapped in an OEM 180F unit and it would cruise down the road at 193F for a while then it would climb up to 200F and them back down again (like a 20min cycle) and I know the thermostat must have been opening/closing. However in traffic it will go from 193F to 204F.

It seems to me that a good working 190F OEM setup has a much smaller temp range vs the 180F OEM setup. However with these trucks especially in hot regions cooler is better.

 

Your not the only one to get a bad from stock thermostat.
......

 

I put the old one back in and it is working great. Guess I need to go by the saying.... "if it ain't broke...don't fix it"..

 

Even the highest quality of parts will occasionally have a bad apple. Get a warranty replacement from L8.

 

I would do as Alex said. I have installed countless OEM 180s with no issues, so it must be a bad one.

 

I will do that. I will contact lucky 8 Monday.

 

Those are my exact running temps currently OP. I believe I'm using the factory T-Stat (180 open) but I ordered in the "110" (Part Number) unit that LR03NJ linked.

That T-stat should start opening at 174 and has a soft spring to full open nearly immediately.

I expect to drop from my numbers and I'll verify if they change.

You can use my results as a baseline (however, I do have the extremly large Chevy viscous fan that runs ALL THE TIME lol)

I'll be flushing and swapping this week when the temps climb about 50 degrees outside (Ohio sucks)

 

I ordered my 180 Land Rover t stay from Miami rovers and no issues as of yet. I'm running a stock cooling set up and in mild 70 degree Alabama weather, it has yet to get about 195 even in heavy stop and go traffic per my ultra guage. You must have got one that somebody made on Monday after a wild soccer weekend drinking binge