Oldseadog
Well-Known Member
That is the opening temperature of the stat, not the maximum temperature that will pass through it.
sp00k
Well-Known Member
Also, thermostat should be 88 on a 200 TDI - it uses a hotter stat than the 2.5 NA.
My new gauge must be very precise, I noticed it's actually reading 89 degrees, not 90. I gave her a good test run today, working the engine hard - much harder than I would in normal conditions. I could not get the needle about 89 degrees.
sp00k
Well-Known Member
The lesson of this (for me anyway) is, it's not what's stamped on the thermostat, it's does it work properly. The stat that I took out was stamped 88 and was new.
I knew the rest of the system was good because my radiator is new (and I can feel it's working very well), the hoses are all in good order and the coolant is new and at the correct mix. The water pump was changed just before I got the engine and looked new to me when I changed the cam belt.
Although my stat was new as well, the signs indicated that's where the problem lay.
