OEM Mazda Thermostat issues
 

Just bought my FD and I am going to upgrade my Radiator so I decided to replace the thermostat as well. I am going to stay with the stock temp 180F,so I want to go with the OEM Mazda thermostat 8AF615171, my question is about the recent quality of the OEM thermostats. I've seen a lot of threads saying they went to shit in quality and don't even come with the jiggle pin anymore, but these threads are dated around 2007-2014. I'm hoping to get feedback from someone that has bought and used an OEM Thermostat recently and if they're good now or if I should go with something else?

I've seen quite a few threads about this; here is one thread I saved discussing the Jiggle pin issue and quality issues:
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...jiggle-642855/

Thanks in advance!

I haven't done one in a while so I'm not sure what the current thermostat looks like. If it doesn't have a jiggle pin you can drill a small hole at the top of the thermostat lip where the jiggle pin should be, that helps.

The hole/jiggle pin should be installed at the 12 o'clock position.

I have been burned by aftermarket thermostats more than once, Mazda is still the way to go unless someone finds a better alternative.

Dale

I've had good results with Motorad 322-180.

Nice, I will end up drilling a hole if it doesn't have the jiggle pin. Yea definitely won't go with one from the parts store, the price difference is not more than 10$ either. The more threads I read on this the more I see people recommending the OEM Mazda thermostat, I was just worried because in the link I listed in this thread, someone said they now have an updated part# with -9U at the end. Said its a different quality thermostat, with a smaller opening but that was over 8 years ago and only one person saying that; which is why I'm hoping to find someone that has used one in recent years.

What was your reason for going with this Motorad over the OEM one? Was it because of the jiggle pin, cost or availability? The price difference is only about 10$ in my case so cost is not a deciding factor for me.

I've seen a few oem ones fail prematurely over the past few years. Lots of fd parts seem to be new old stock so who knows how long they have been sitting.

Ah definitely something I didn't want to hear, I already ordered one from my local Mazda. I'm going to inspect it and the packaging to see if it looks like it's been sitting a while but I know that will be nearly impossible to determine. So any failure stories with that Motorad? Also how long have you been using those?

IRPerformance thank you for websites

I've read the OEM thermostat opens at 180 F, if that's the case, can the Pettit be used as an OEM alternative?
Thermostat 180° F

FWIW, I think Atkins carries the Motorad. Just changed mine about a month ago after the gasket/'O' ring failure caused a small leak. Was getting something else from Atkins and ordered a new T-stat/'O' ring at the same time. It had the jiggle-pin. Just clean the seat for the 'O' ring seal really well. There was a little crud build-up on mine, possibly from the bad 'O' ring.