Just so happens my clearance thermostat is a Motorad which has the VW/Audi p/n cast on the housing!
Reviews of MotoRad thermostat
113 votes
I had issues with the MotoRad that every parts store in Canada seems to sell
issue that i noticed is that the jiggle pin is inside the bridge, compared to the standard one. i have installed the thermostat, bled the coolant, and still made sure that the jiggle pin and head gasket carve out lines up at the 12oclock position when installing; but now theres some ticking noise sometimes and i can feel my heater blowing really hot air (warmer than the usual heat).
Motorad isn't a good brand. You don't want to do the job again in a year.
Installed a Motorad thermostat and noticed the temp gauge dropping on the highway. I never had this issue before I changed the tstat
I remembered the old thermostat looking like it did, so I waited a few hours to let the engine cool down then swapped the new thermostat for the old one, turned the engine on and no overheating. I've been driving the car as it is for a while now without any problems other than I can't drive long-distance without it running too hot (ex. I drove 4 hours a couple times a year traveling for college, and in the summer the car sometimes would overheat by the time I got to my destination).
Had a Motorad Fail Safe a few years ago and it was a POS.
Tried a Gates from RockAuto and it was a Motorad in the box. Installed it anyway, it seemed to hold the temp *lower* than the 170 Stant did, and my engine cooled all the way down to cold when I went down a long grade.
I tried a parts store Motorad, failed. Tried a Napa gold stat that turned out to be repackaged Motorad, failed.
Every 6-7 months the cheap garbage scam of a brand Motorrad remains to be the only available thermostat I can access. I do the temp gun test, I verify my sensors are correct. I burp the cooling system. Everything. I’ve gotten so good at the job now. Every brand of thermostat I’ve tried in Canada is a Reboxed Motorrad. Premium to Economy. 7$-25 they’re all the stupid same. Parts source, Gates , Napa , Autovalue , “mopar” from my dealer. All Motorrad at different prices. I know of 2 they make, the standard oe 195 which is usually economy line. And the fail safe one they make. Both have catastrophic failures, either get stuck open, spring blows apart. Usually after 6-7 months they stop working entirely or the thing slowly stops letting the Jeep get to temp and I dread reliving the Motorrad Groundhog Day effect. It’s a garbage thermostat. People have argued with me that they make OEM equivalent parts and they never have issues but I’ve had nothing but issues.
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