What Do Other People in My Situation Do?

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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RockAuto Jessa
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What Do Other People in My Situation Do?

Post by RockAuto Jessa »

Gaining insights from a relative handful of anonymous product reviews requires patience and skill at reading between the lines. Anonymous reviews of replacement auto parts are even sketchier. There are just too many parts and too many vehicle models to ever hope to get a meaningful number of useful reviews for any one part. RockAuto may have ten alternators with a choice of three amperage outputs that fit just one truck. Reviews of broad part types (alternators, thermostats...) and brands (ACDelco, Stant...) without any specific make, year, model, engine connections are likely to be nothing but vague opinions and biases.

RockAuto's heart icons (Image) turn the extreme specificity of replacement auto parts into an advantage! A heart icon next to a part means it was ordered most frequently and returned least frequently for a specific vehicle. This is actual data from ALL customers facing similar repairs on the same vehicle. That is what makes heart icons great. They are based on data that automatically reflects the myriad things ALL customers purchasing that part for that vehicle have taken into account.

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simon84
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Re: What Do Other People in My Situation Do?

Post by simon84 »

This is a good tip. I've used Rockauto many times and it's a great source for parts.

I just received a Motorad high temp thermostat for my tercel (part # MTO2014-192). The details of the part description indicate it has a jiggle valve (that little hole with a jiggly metal thing in it). The one that I received has no jiggle valve.
Does anyone here think it matters? I'm thinking I will just use it. Seems too much hassle to return it.
If anyone on here has any info on whether it's important to have the jiggle valve on the tercel, please let me know.
Thanks
Driver: 87 Tercel SR5, white, 4ac, weber carb (aka the Tercedes)
Road Tripper:95 Mitsubishi Delica L400 2.8L Turbo Diesel
Motorbike: 94 Kawasaki Ninja ZX6
Project Car:Red 68 Plymouth Sport Fury III
Previous Tercel:Orange 84 Tercel 4wd (aka the pumpkin)
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NWMO
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Re: What Do Other People in My Situation Do?

Post by NWMO »

Simon,

Does the provided part have a small hole in the flange? I believe both the jiggle valve or small hole allow air to pass through and avoid an air pocket creating problems. Trapped air does not heat the thermostat spring the same and could allow higher than desired temps before opening. I think my son just faced this on his 76' Maverick. Right after installing a new radiator, the temp gauge did not register until "boom", it jumped up over 200 degrees. Presumably, the thermostat trapped an air pocket that created this behavior. The air has worked its' way out now and all is well, but I believe that is why a jiggle valve or hole is helpful on thermostats. If there is no hole, you should be able to drill one yourself, keep it small, 1/8" or less.

Chris


RA Jessa,

Thanks for the tip, I've seen the heart symbol but never knew what it denoted. Very helpful.
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splatterdog
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Re: What Do Other People in My Situation Do?

Post by splatterdog »

Simon, should've got a Kuzeh stat. They are the OE supplier and they look much more substantial than any aftermarket. The Motorad should work though. Drilling your own bypass probably isn't the best idea, jiggle valves seal against water flow.
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