Volvo 850 thermostats....brand recommendation??

[Pablo]

1996 NA Volvo 850 2.5L I-5. I'll need to replace the Volvo thermostat for the 5th time or so. They seem to stick open or partially open....I'm about to just buy a generic brand. Sucks because the engine takes forever to warm up, and now that we are have a cold snap I saw condensation on the dipstick (never saw that before).....arrgh.....it happens regardless of coolant type used.

Is there a "best" thermostat?

 

[Boomer]

Stant

 

[The Critic]

Stant SuperStat should be available for your engine. I don't see a 2.5L I-5 in the look-up though.

The Stant works fine on my Saturn but it runs a bit on the warm side for some reason.

 

[Coolant_Man]

OEM is usually preferred, but Stant and Autozone's Duralast are excellent after-market replacements.

I went to the Autozone website to look this up for you and saw there is no mention of an 1996 850 with a 2.5L engine. Looks like just 2.3L Turbo and 2.4L MFI. Autozone has their Duralast brand of thermostats for the 2.4L in 160°F, 180°F, and 192°F...

Duralast Thermostats

In Washington, you will probably want a 180°F or a 192°F if it gets real cold. The 160°F would be preferred if you lived in a hot state like Florida.

 

[The Critic]

Research Stant Superstat #45379 (195F) or #45378 (180F).

 

[dnastrau]

I have always had good luck with "Wahler" thermostats in Euro engines. I had a half dozen VWs in the past and that brand always served me well.

 

[Pablo]

Excellent responses. 2.5=2.4 in the look ups. Same B5254S engine.

I'll look at the 192°F Duralast.

Wahler worked great in the old 245Ti. But I think stock here is Waler....not sure.....

Thanks guys! Wishing you the BEST.

 

[EricF]

the duralast tstats are supposedly made by Motorad.. which is a very good stat.

I'm impartial to Gates/Stant (same company). The Superstat is built very well and last a long time.

 

[Chris142]

The motorad Stats we sell are made in India.

With that said we have installed several hundred over the years and only had 1 bad one.

Gotta be better than the volvo part.

 

[sven98]

Wahler is OEM for the 850. Since yours is a NA, you need a 90 Celsius one. Im getting ready to do mine, its been acting real lazy just like yours.

You can get a wahler from the dealer or eeuroparts.com

 

[defektes]

Stant Superstats have served me well always.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
Pablo - I would use a 90C OEM (or Wahler it it is not OEM) in your case. Warmer is always better than cooler in engines of the last couple of decades

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: Coolant_Man

In Washington, you will probably want a 180°F or a 192°F if it gets real cold. The 160°F would be preferred if you lived in a hot state like Florida.

No.

I frequently see 250,000 mile engines that had nothing but OE temperature thermostats.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: Doug Hillary
Hi,
Pablo - I would use a 90C OEM (or Wahler it it is not OEM) in your case. Warmer is always better than cooler in engines of the last couple of decades


The problem is the OEM ones don't last. I can't remember if this OEM one is Wahler like my old Volvos.

I will go with the best aftermarket one I can find.

 

[Ken2]

IPD sells Vernet or Calorstat brands, and I've had very good results with the items IPD sells.

By the way, 90°C (194°F) is the recommended set point for the naturally aspirated 850, and 87°C (189°F) for the turbo. I have 178,000 miles on my '96 turbo, and I've never had a thermostat fail. I've changed mine maybe three times just because it might be a good idea, but the engine is always beginning to warm by the same spot on the road out of home.

 

[Pablo]

How the heck did I forget about IPD?? Thanks Ken2. The OEM ones I've been getting at Barrier Volvo fail so early...it's like a bad batch of something.


You probably know that I had a bit of a cold ride today!!

 

[The Critic]

My friend has a 740??? wagon and after 1 mile of driving tonight there was still no heat. 158k on the car. What's with Volvos and t-stats?

 

[mechanicx]

Good point a lot of times a T-stat might not stick open or stick shut but it will open too fast and not let the engine warm up as fast.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
My friend has a 740??? wagon and after 1 mile of driving tonight there was still no heat. 158k on the car. What's with Volvos and t-stats?


Dunno, perfect 33°F sunny day to change the t-stat. Got a made in USA Car Quest 195°F unit. Heat, glorious heat. Works perfect.

The 90.0 °C Wahler unit was stuck about .25" open. Amazing.

 

[sven98]

I just did the t-stat on my 850 last night. Removed a 5 year old Wahler and replaced it with another Wahler 90C. The old one had the genuine "Volvo" logo stamped on it, the new one didnt...hmm. Lets see how long this one lasts. If not, I'll have to try the aftermarket one next time.