Benjamin4456

This should in theory be a quick question, but has anyone else had issues with the OEM style thermostats supplied by Atkins? I'm not sure if it's just my luck or the car but they seem rather unreliable. Some days the car takes forever to warm up, others it randomly overheats. It's not a fan issue as I've had these cooling quirks across multiple engines, radiators, clutch fans and electric fans, etc. The thermostats just seem to get stuck randomly, but then they work most of the time just fine. The car is daily driven so it's not a matter of sitting for a while. I've gone through three Atkins thermostats in three years and now I've picked up a Stant SuperStat but it doesn't have the jiggle pin. Looks like Mazdatrix may have the OEM one, although I thoughts Atkins was supposed to be as well - they look identical other than the color/material.

Curious if anyone has had these issues and if there are any suggestions on the matter.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

After experiencing weird cooling issues myself and earning the hard way, I use only the Mazda oem thermostat and gasket. Some people report that they have had no issues with the aftermarket units. I tried one years ago and it gave the engine in my GSL-SE crazy temperature fluctuations. I installed an oem thermostat and the cooling was back to normal. I should have went that route in the first place.

midnight mechanic

I've used t-stats that didn't have the hole and jiggle pin. I punched a 1/8inch hole in it.

Once I bought a water pump housing. It came with the t-stat and the top that goes on it. Installed the whole damn thing w/o checking the t-stat. Engine immediately over heated. Took out the t-stat, it didn't have hole for the air to bleed past it, so the t-stat never sensed the hot coolant and wouldn't open.

I pity whoever bought the engine that the water pump housing came from.

Did you test the atkin's t-stat by measuring when it opened using by boiling water on the stove and a thermometer ?

tommyeflight89

iTrader: (4)

The best thermostat you can get is available from any Mazda dealership, just a phone call away.

Will cost you $18.

Call them up and order:

8553-15-171

Order the $4 OEM gasket while you are at it:
1757-15-173

I replaced all my cooling system components with OEM where available, including thermostat and all hoses.

We still have so many OEM parts available for the FB.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i tested the 89-1995 part they sell and was pleasantly surprised, they sell a Motorad part.

for the 74-1988, Mazda USA sells the genuine part, so just buy that, it works.

one needs to keep in mind that the spec in the manual is the MINIMUM so while the stant might meet the minimum, the factory one goes about twice as far

Benjamin4456

Awesome, thank you all for the replies.

It took me three different dealerships to get one that could actually figure it out. Gave each of them the same part number listed above (thanks tommyeflight89), as well as the original number in the parts fiche that I looked up. First dealer said it wasn't a Mazda number, second one couldn't find the number either until I gave them a VIN, then it wasn't available, and finally the third pulled it up instantly and said it can be here Wednesday. Downside is it's 30 bucks, but that's about what I'm seeing from Atkins and Mazdatrix for the "OEM" thermostat, so I suppose it isn't so terrible. Some online Mazda parts dealers have it for about $18.00, although shipping is slower and not free so it works out to about the same.

Anyway, at least it's on the way. I may report back once I have it in hand, although if not, thank you again for the help.

JOE68

mustang gt thermostat work good to...... it opens at 160 ... 52mm