I got it from:

Beck-Arnley Foreign car parts
2843 Kirchoff Rd.
Rolling Meadows, IL. 60008
847-577-2473, 3953

I thought it was a bit expensive at roughly $25 given the Behr and other options were all $15, but no one seemed to offer a lower temp tstat out there. What's another ten bucks after you've already bought a new radiator and aux fan?
Good Luck.

Chazmo

where does one purchase a behr for $15? thank you

janko, you idiot. this discussion does not concern itself with diesels. this is a gas discussion. and the thermostats for this application are indeed $15 at fastlane, not the $20 quoted for the 123 diesels. get with it schmuck!

i found a place that sells beck/arnley thermostats and they have 80C, 82C & 87C ones for my engine. they also have 2 types : a regular one that is $20 and a "failsafe" one that is $30. the failsafe ones are guaranteed not to get stuck in a closed position. does anyone know if either the behr or wahler designs are "failsafe"?

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joE
1993 300e-2.8 - gone now <sigh>
"Do not adjust your mind, it's reality that's malfunctioning"
http://banners.wunderground.com/bann...L/Key_West.gif

Go back to page 1 of 2 and read M.B.DOCs opinion of Wahler's. They don't sound too safe to me.

i threw out my old wahler thermostat. MB DOC's post does not indicate whether it fails open or closed, although i assume it is closed which is baaaad news when it happens...

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joE
1993 300e-2.8 - gone now <sigh>
"Do not adjust your mind, it's reality that's malfunctioning"
http://banners.wunderground.com/bann...L/Key_West.gif

At the end of last summer, mine was sticking open. I cannot tell you its provenance. I replaced with a Wahler, and car runs hot -- 95-105 C on the highway in cold weather. I will be putting in a Behr before summer comes, and will gut out the Wahler for my toolkit. I'll use it to install temporarily and keep for coolant flushing purposes.

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David
1986 300E Anthracite + ECodes + MB Mileage Award

My daughters 740 Volvo was running cold so I decided to change the thermostat. The exising one was a Wahler and it had broken in half, just as MB Doc warned.

Up till then I had been a fan of Wahler but I think I will go to Behr.

Some of the earlier posts in this thread remind me of an oil thread. At least suginami is level headed about this. Has anyone considered the differences in temperature we may be seeing are simply production variances?... or how accurate are the temp gauges in our vehicles? I doubt the temp gauges are built to analytical accuracies. Plus it's too much to ask for an engine to hold a rock steady temperature.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

Thanks for the compliment.

I'm finally getting the recognition I've always deserved.

No, seriously.

You're exactly right.
The temperature gauges in our cars can't be terribly accurate. Every car will also vary somewhat in the temp they operate.

Further, from reading the many posts in this website over a several year period, excluding a failure of the water pump or the radiator, W124's don't overheat.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

The temp gauge is most useful for detecting trends. Hopefully, the driver/owner gets used to how the car behaves and knows what is normal for the temp gauge. Once it starts to veer in one direction or another the driver/owner is then alerted to diagnose a failure in the cooling system.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

My temp guage was steady at 80-87C on the highway in all weather before it stuck open. It now reads much hotter, nothing else has changed in the system except fluid, and that did not change the hot readings.

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David
1986 300E Anthracite + ECodes + MB Mileage Award

At least with a MBZ temp gauge, we know it's alive!

Compare that to a typical japanese temp gauge that reaches operating temp and then never moves!

Another data point, my car would always run cool and in hindsight this was telling me my thermostat was ailing. It finally broke shut and I overheated. I don't remember if it was a Wahler but the failure was the same as mentioned, a broken bridge.

glenmore
1991 300CE
1990 LS400

The ratio of water to coolant can have a big effect on temps. In other words, if the coolant is changed at the same time as the thermostat, a change in temps could be the result in a change in the ratio of coolant to water. You should never have more than 50% coolant in the mixture.

I always premix coolant and water to avoid any chance of installing the wrong mixture.