It's about thermostat replacement interval time and the landscape of thermostat availability seems to be a bit thinned out since last buying one in 2018. The gray boi seems out of stock everywhere?

https://www.roverparts.com/engine-cooling/thermostats/PEL500110G/
https://www.britishpartsofutah.com/Discovery-Soft-Spring-180F-Thermostat-PEL500110-p/pel500110g.htm

Also, I see these on eBay but they're all black, not gray.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/356453667229

 

I'm in the same boat, my fan blew up last semester and took out the thermostat and I had to put in an off-brand one and haven't been able to find an OE low temp since then. https://www.autohausaz.com/pn/115312...BoCvRgQAvD_BwE I'm thinking about giving this a shot, since it's metal which solves my major complaint with the OE ones, and it's the proper temp (80C is 176F).

 

Or rather this one thats even cheaper.

https://www.bimmerworld.com/Cooling/...BoCeQcQAvD_BwE

Either way, cheaper than a rover one, same low temp, and metal. Seems like a no brainer but in my 8 years of having a d2 I can't remember seeing anyone run one of these. Part is for a bunch of different older BMWs, but I specifically searched for e30 thermostats.

 

I have a couple of NIB factory thermostats sitting at home but I don't know if they're grey off the top of my head. I'll check tonight and if they are, you're welcome to them for the cost of shipping.

 

I’d gratefully take them all if they’re indeed the gray ones.

 

I'm curious, did you already use/sell/break/failed/go through the one I gave you (idc where it went I'm just curious)? I'd be impressed if the one I gave you failed so soon.

 

I ordered a NOS Grey 180F from the UK like 3 weeks ago. #1 with all the aftermarket units = they should be stamped inside with the temp rating in C. 90% of the black ones with that added mount (was used on Freelander's) is normally a DEAD giveaway it'll be a 190/195F unit vs 180F. To be totally honest, the last time I had an old customer come to me with an emergency cooling issue they went down to Auto Zone and brought me a 180F Motorad thermostat. People used to completely dog Motorad, but 99.9% of all thermostats today = are made by Motorad (I had done a lot of research back in the day before the inline thermostat became the standard). Lucky8 for example used to sell a Britpart black 180F thermostat (Britpart DOES NOT make the part) they just had a supplier and they were actually 178F units. They were FANTASTIC!!!! I was installing them like crazy and never had an issue. Then like all good things that particular supplier changed their product and it started being the 190/195F Freelander looking thermostats...... People were still buying the Britpart thermostats but were all like WTH my truck temps are the same. That's because they weren't the same product they were selling before!

PEL500110
Generic 180F OEM Style (looks like a Motorad)

Back when I owned Hummer H3's the I5 had a unique thermostat assembly. It was 180F originally, but later models switched to a 190F for emission reasons. It was nearly impossible to find a 180F unit and all the ones marked 180F were simply 190F units.... Only way to truly verify is have the stat in your hand and look up inside of it for the C rated temp marking. If it doesn't have it you can drop it into a pot of boiling water. I did that on countless so called D2 180F units that weren't marked and they started opening at 190F vs cooler temps.

 

Haha no, since it's not an OEM gray one, I have it as a roadside emergency backup. Works great for that!

 

Where did you end up ordering it from?

 

It was off of Ebay from a UK LR Parts seller. Since buying it I haven't seen another one listed. OEM will be in a thin white box FYI. Those OEM looking boxes that are brown with a black thermostat = FAKE