Went to a local autoparts store accross my highschool right after lifting this morning. Told the guy i wanted a 180* thermostat and he asked me my make/model etc. Gave me a Stant 180* thermostat part #13008 and a water outlet gasket made my fel-pro part # 35062.

Are these good products or are they absolute ****? I mean i only payed like $4 for both so if they're **** i wont mind not usin em, but then what should i get?

If you guys do suggest another type of thermostat, what chain autostores would carry them, or can i just order from like jegs (i dont want to go through summit for a $5 part and pay a 9 dollar handling fee--but i dont know what jegs shipping policy is).

Any help would be appricaited.

 

Those parts are just fine. There is really no point in getting a thermostat from a place like Summit Racing or Jegs, almost all of them are the exact same thing that you can get at any auto parts store. I just have one suggestion, put a light coat of RTV silicone on both sides of the thermostat gasket before you install it, if you weren't already planning on doing so. Just helps the gasket seal a little better.

 

Thanks...i can check and see if we have any of that silicone, but if not, where do i get it from??

 

Any auto parts store will have it. They have a couple of different colors and ratings, but any kind will be fine for the thermostat gasket. It's sometimes also referred to as gasket maker.

It usually looks like this:

 

Well i showed my dad (former GM mechanic in the 80's) the stat and he took me out to his toolbox and pulled out 2 brand new (well new, but they're probably atleast a decade old) ACdelco 180* theromstats with the GM gaskets. So i guess i'll be using those instead of the stant i got today. He showed me some stuff we can use to stick the gasket on while we put the stat on. While wwere changing the thermostat we're gonna flush out the coolant and replace it with some new coolant, so we're gonna do this friday when hes off from work and so we have time to get some coolant. I'll let you guys know how i make out...