Is This How Far A Thermostat Is Supposed To Open? (pics)

The rubber gasket that goes around the thermostat I bought with the thermostat. I can't remember if it came with it or I had to buy it seperately.

The gasket on the thermostat housing I made from a piece of gasket material (I keep it around the shop) using the top of the housing as a guide. (Trace the shape, cut it out with an exactly knife.) Takes 10 minutes. I didn't do this to save money....just time waiting for a new gasket! Given the time to order everything in advance, I will just order the right gasket from Ricambi!

Birdman

 

In the interest of completeness, the OEM thermostat also says "BREVETTATO" on it which means "Patented" in Italian. On the side there is a stamp which says "75E7". That's all the writing on it.

In a google search, I turn up no references to a thermostat manufacturer named "SAVAHA" but I looked closer and what looks like a capital H is actually an R with the top not stamped well. The thermostat is SAVARA! Google that!

Birdman

 

Savara seems to be the OEM on Lamborghini and some Fiat. Not many Google references to Ferrari and Savara. I believe there may be some old stock of this, but I'm inclined to believe that the Behr guy is right that they may supply all new production thermostats to Ferrari.

http://www.findownersearch.com/brand/3173454/

 

[This afternoon I dug out an old "authentic" Ferrari thermostat from the Mondial's coolant hose replacement adventure, and one of the stant thermostats I bought (I bought a couple different temperatures to play with) and put them both in hot water. They both opened the same. The Ferrari one opened a tad more, so the secondary valve at the bottom extended about 1 mm more. The Ferrari had a slightly wider hole (although the same diameter of the thermostat itself) and of course the tiny bleed hole which is unique to the Ferrari thermostats.

Birdman[/QUOTE]




oh yea.... what is the purpose of the "bleeder hole" in thermostat bellows and is it essential for proper operation?

 

It is for exactly that....to aid in bleeding the system. If you didn't have that little bleeder hole, air would not be able to escape from around the underside of the thermostat until the car was hot enough for the tstat to open. You want to bleed as much air as possible with the car cold as you can. The hole is small enough to let air out and around the thermostat so it can get out the bleeder screw on the top of the thermostat housing, but not large enough for a significant amount of coolant to get through when the car is not yet warmed up.

Always position the thermostat bleeder hole oriented at the highest point when placing the thermostat in the car.

Birdman

 

The thermostat I just purchased is stamped "BEHR THERMOT- tronik ITALIA 7D-82" w/bleeder hole and rubber gasket, $39.00 through Lyle Tanner Ent. 916-454-3240

 

Cool, thanks for the reference!

Birdman

 

Today I received the following e-mail:

Dear Mr. Bird,

I am responding to a request you made for a supplier of thermostats for
your 308. The part number in question is listed below as well as the
Mercedes numbers. This is a fairly common thermostat and should be readily
available anywhere Mercedes parts are sold. If you need a supplier in your
area please email or call with your location and I will let you know who
our distributor is.

Hella Number H78010141 Behr Number 2.082.79.312 "THERMOSTAT INSERT W/
GASKET, Opening Temperature: 79 °C
Crosses to these two Mercedes Benz Numbers 001 203 90 75 and 002 203 02 75

Best regards,

Craig Wolfe
Sales Coordinator Spare Parts

Hella, Inc.
201 Kelly Drive
P.O. Box 2665
Peachtree City, GA, 30269, USA

 

FYI: Hella (yes, the same one that does lighting) is the USA rep for Behr Thermostats.

 

You took the words right out of my mouth. I was just too concerned about everything you mentioned not to just spring for Ferrari's own part (or Behr's but you know what I mean)

I have spent more for less many times before AND a couple hundred isn't going to break me either. I don't like it but whatever..

 

Birdman, I appreciate your research

but I really didn't mean to throw a homework assignment at you when I started this thread...

still, on behalf of all 308 owners worldwide, many thanks

 

having just bought one of the 'real things' for just under $200, i was at first pissed cuz of
all the usual reasons.

However, when i figured the true cost over several years of usage, amortization, etc, etc, etc,
I realized it just doesn't matter much.

$200 every year for one of these...no way...$200 for one that'll last several years, i can handle that easier.

 

To follow up on this ancient thread, I could NOT find this part using any of these part numbers on-line so I called Hella back and they referred me to All European Parts in Michigan. I called them (248) 399-9211 and they were helpful in that they were able to tell me that the Behr 2.082.79.312 thermostat for the 308 is also a Mercedes 100 200 07 15. (Neither of the Mercedes cross reference part numbers that Hella gave me were valid). I checked on-line and many places have it. I just ordered it from http://www.autohausaz.com/ for $16 plus shipping.

I'll let you know what it looks like when it arrives.

 

Agree I have just been through the process finding a replacement thermostat for my 348. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50339&page=8

I had the engine out and even though the original worked fine I wanted to change it because it would be a pain to do in the car if it died 2 weeks down the road.

A genuine one leaves not much change from $300 so went to the WSM and got dimensions and temp specifications found a match, paid $24 for it and went hime to check all ok in the car now and seems fine.

Others have since found "EXACTLY THE SAME" as OEM for $8.....

 

The Behr "Made in Germany" thermostat showed up today. Looks exactly right. It's cool, it has a little ball-bearing "valve" in the bleeder hole that will shut off the bleeder when there is flow, but allow you to bleed air when the engine is off. I ordered part number 100 200 07 15 (this is a Mercedes number) from Autohaus Arizona on their website.

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?sid=gfbbcy55rkxwx3zoaroqzomz&partnumber=100%20200%2007%2015

There is a 79 degree C and an 87 degree C version. 79 degrees is the standard one. (The 87 degree will allow the engine to run hotter, not good for a Ferrari).

$15.90 for the thermostat and $8.00 shipping. This is a good German thermostat for the price of a cheapo stant, and this seems to be the thermostat that Superformance UK is selling as the replacement thermostat for a 308.

To summarize this thread, the problem is that the original 308 thermostat manufacturer (Savara) no longer seems to be in business, so to buy an "authentic-looks-just-like-the-one-that-came-with-the-car" thermostat means paying $200+ for an NOS part which is 20+ years old to begin with. My investigation showed that Behr makes most later-model Ferrari thermostats, including 308 replacements. They used to be made by the Behr Italian Division, but they are now available through the German division. There are cross-references to other cars which makes them easier to find. I called Behr and found out the Behr Part number for the 308 thermostat, and it was also used extensively in 1970s Mercedes, which makes it easy to get from Mercedes parts dealer. Voila.

The thermostat I just got in the mail from Behr is a much better looking piece than the cheapo Stant I bought at NAPA and was no more expensive, so I recommend that you buy the Behr!

Birdman

 

WELL, please ignore all my posts for the past couple of pages. Behr appears to have sent me on a wild goose chase. I finally got my 308 apart to replace the thermostat and guess what? The Behr I bought does not even come close to fitting.

Go to NAPA, cross-reference with the one from your car, and pay $10. All my research was for nothing.

Birdman

 

I measured the stock one and the wrong one and e-mailed Behr AGAIN to see if they can figure out where they f-ed up and if they can find the right one.

 

Screw it, I now have the phone number of the guy at Behr in Italy. I'm calling tomorrow. I'm getting to the bottom of this, just because its bugging me!

 

250.00!!?? The one I bought for my 308 in 2003 cost 45.00. (in a yellow box)
Yours looks to be opening properly.
Hang on to it if it still opens at the correct temperature. No reason why you can't re-use it in a pinch.

 

They say this is the right one from Behr:

http://cat.hella.com/hella232/jsp/search/advanced/Frameset_ButtonBar_Bottom.jsp?nologin=yes&currentObjectId=CA@USAData@[email protected]

(It's the Hella website, they are the US importer.)

Since I found a Wahler that is the best match I have seen so far, not sure I'm going to order this one or not.

 

thanks for all of your hard work. i get an error message in German when i try to open the link.

i too would like to know a good alternate number for a thermostat.


edit, played with my firewall and it worked. sorry !

 

Michael,
I honestly believe that the Wahler that GeoMetry found in the thread in the 308 section is a better choice. It has the dimensions almost identical to the Savara--particularly the ID.

Birdman

 

Well, based on your email above, I ordered the part, but it won' fit my '78 308! It is bigger diameter all the way around, so it's not the same! Help!!!