Replacing the thermostat before it dies of natural causes?

citroDane · Post by **citroDane** » 26 Jul 2010, 12:27

When it comes to maintenance I suppose there are two main schools of thought. Proactive
(/ preventive) and reactive. I’ve always been in favor of the former as I’ve never found
thinking ‘now what’ standing roadside to be much fun or economic for that matter.

My Xantia is 11 years old and my coolant is due for replacement. The thing is the thermostat
is the original that was installed by the factory and I’m wondering if I should replace it in the
spirit of preventive maintenance. As with other things I am sure the thermostat won’t last for
ever. I’m just not sure when they reach the critical age where you do yourself a favor to replace
them before they die on you. ;-/

Any ideas gents?

Also, anyone got prior experiences with unoriginal Italian (Facit) thermostats. They are
the cheapest down here (in Croatia).

Cheers,
Gabriel

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 26 Jul 2010, 12:50

Hi Gabriel,

I guess most of my maintenace is reactive.. but as time goes by I try to learn to be proactive more and more..

saying that, I rarely have only one vehicle on the road, and dont really mind unexpected problems as much as others might..

I would guess to keep your cooling system running well for another decade, then a drian, flush, matrix change, all hoses, thermostat, water pump.. etc etc.. where do you stop?
also, if the car is only worth little, sometimes, it's better to replace things as and when, and not spend hundreds on preventative maintenace..

tricky..

as for thermo quality, same thing really, a genuine part would be a good course of action, but most of us tend to fit pattern parts at half the price and have no problems..

I cant speak for xantia values in Croatia, but here they are now very cheap..

interested in other opinions..
John

citroDane · Post by **citroDane** » 27 Jul 2010, 18:10

Hi John,

Thanks a lot for your reply.

You have a good point concerning the drawbacks or rather the impracticality of
proactive maintenance per se. It is hard to decide where to stop and how far you
should really take it. Some of my friends think I’m often throwing money out of the
window and sometimes I end up thinking they are right.

Actually you gave me an idea. Maybe I could go to a more reactive maintenance
mode if I got myself a second car. I’d need to do some calculations on the cost
but I might end up saving money.

As for the thermostat, I think I’m gonna give that Italian part a try then and hopefully
I’ll have no problems with it –like the rest of you guys.

Br,
Gabriel

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 27 Jul 2010, 18:52

ok

you could get a moped/scooter

Old-Guy · Post by **Old-Guy** » 27 Jul 2010, 19:29

My Xantia was 11 years old when I acquired it - with full Citroen Service History and and a genuine 67,000 miles. Having done the cambelt and generally checked it over, on the first fast motorway trip she overheated - not catastrophically as the fans had kicked in and I coasted to the next junction/services where she was allowed to cool down before returning home at a gentle pace. The thermostat hadn't 'failed', it just didn't open more than about ¼. I've had this before on cars around the 100,000 mile, 5-6 year mark, so I should have changed the thermostat when I changed the coolant.

The thing about thermostats is that when this cheap item fails (they all do, it's just a question of time) it can wreck the engine. The cost/risk ratio is about 1:200. It a no-brainer: change the thermostat every 5-6 years or 50-60,000 miles.