new thermostat

[ssc1]

well winters here again and its cold and the engine wont go above 70 degrees on a run and the heater is cold as well ,i suspect the thermostat is buggered or missing so where can i get a new one as halfords dont list them for tvr and i dont want to have a 100 mile round trip just for this small item ,so can anybody tell me which one to use and do i have to modify it at all.

[ribol]

Why not whip the old one out, scrape off the crap on it so you can read the temperature stamped on it and then go to a decent spares shop where people know what they are doing. Any shop selling QH products have a book with all the dimensions/temperatures in the back, it should not take too long to find it.

Halfords are useless at anything to do with cars, they should stick to pushbikes!

Ivan

[shpub]

TVR use specials so get one from them please! Do not use the Rover ones as they are too small and have the wrong temp.

[crimsonchim]

I'm finding the same. Put in a 74' thermostat (recommended by a specialist) last spring and it was fine all summer, now on a cold morning the gauge stays under 70 and it cruises at 65. Don't know how accurate the gauge is, but the heater is best described as a luke-warmer (even on maximum) until you get stuck in a traffic jam when it burns your feet, then when you get going again, you start to freeze!!

Last winter the old stat (82') went during a very cold spell and I had to replace it straight away, I put an 86' in (halfords, 4.0 range rover) and changed it for the recommended one when I got round to it. Can't recommend doing that, all I can say is that it worked for me and was fine for the winter.

I guess we're faced with two alternatives, winter and summer thermostats, like some old classics use, or put it away for the winter!!

Cheers,

Andy

[shpub]

If the temp is below that of the stat then the problem is not due to the stat but other factors like airflow and possibly alledgedly in some cars that exhibit some bleed through into the rad. Maybe. Possibly.

In this case, blocking part of the radiator air flow is an easier and more appropriate option. Use a plastic sheet as cardboard gets soggy and mushes into the rad.

Have to say that never suffered a cold heater in the Griffs or Cerberas.

[ribol]

I would be interested to know what makes a thermostat a "special"? Do TVR manufacture their own thermostats then, I would not have thought so but could be wrong? Thermostats are one of the few things on cars that have not got any more complicated in recent years. Once it fits correctly (correct dimensions) and it opens and closes at the right temperature (correct temp) there is no reason why it should not work like any OE one.

Ivan

[shpub]

Wider aperture and different temp characteristics and in somes cases 2 to 3 holes in the stat to allow bleed through. The Rover ones come with temps of upto mid90s by which time the TVR engine is in meltdown mode.

Many of the so called overheating unreliability has been caused by fitting Range Rover parts instead oif TVR spec ones.

All detailed including a comment from John Ravenscroft about the differences in the new edition of the Griff/Chimaera bible...