I had an overheating episode last summer that I diagnosed as a bad thermostat while we were in the Red River Gorge (KY) area for a KYTLCA event. Fixed it in camp with an aftermarket tstat that was obtained from the only parts store in town that was open, Car Quest. It worked fine out of the box, but the threshold seemed a few degrees higher than what I was used to. I monitor my temps with an OBD-II app on my phone so I know the typical range was normally 188-192 for me. This one liked to run more like 196-199. Fast forward to now and I've been experiencing some really drastic spikes now that the weather has turned colder over the last month. Also, the heat in the cabin would fade out and blow cold air. I finally put a TEQ tstat in this weekend and solved all my problems. Was really hoping it wasn't a clogged heater core because it's buried under the dash right on top of the trans tunnel. These engines don't have a heater control valve, so that was out as well. Now my temps are back to even lower than they were before my episode last summer, 185-187 and the heat is blowing hot again. Lesson learned, stick with OEM on the tstat - though the aftermarket one did get me home, I should have swapped it out for OEM much sooner.
16031-0P010 Water Inlet Sub-Assembly w/Thermostat
16031-0P010 Water Inlet Sub-Assembly w/Thermostat