Ceearedeedriver wrote:
Nah, I wouldn't consider it luck. Admittedly, the life expectancy of the OE thermostat is somewhat disappointing but when working properly it does, without exception, maintain the engine temperature at the level determined by the engineers at VM and Chrysler to be the correct operating temperature for this engine.
Consider this, how many replacement thermostats are sold worldwide. How many are Mopar originals?, how many Crown?, how many are HDS and how many others e.g. DIY mods and inline. My guess would be that Jeffs percentage is in the low single digits and Mopar up in the 60's-80's. Now, that tells us where the consensus really is.
This is a false argument Ceearedeedriver, and it shows your deliberate ignorance of the issues at play here. I have a start-up business here and have not even been able to afford a website yet; the O.E. thermostat has been in existence here and in other markets around the world for up to 14 years, as it was also used in the previous R425 engine. Of course the manufacturer(s) of the O.E. thermostat is going to own 99%+ of the market!
The engineers who determined the opening temperature of the O.E. thermostat chose different temperatures for different markets. Why? Because there are different pollution control standards in different markets; the thermostat valves in assemblies sold in the European markets are 92 degrees Celsius, (not good), and here in North America they are way down to 80 degrees Celsius, (horrible), due to our ridiculous standards for low NOx pollutants. These are not standards that can be achieved without making sacrifices to engine longevity and fuel economy. This is also a case where the engineers are told what to do to comply with the law, rather than what is good for the engine and for fuel economy. It is funny how most CRD members on this forum recognize the fact that engineers are forced to do things to comply with pollution control regulations like incorporating EGR, crankcase ventilation systems and re-tuning the engine, but that for some at least the engine temperature has nothing to do with it. Keith at Green Diesel Engineering has known for years that the CRD engine runs way too cool in the North American market for maximum efficiency and reliability, and was one of my first customers. This is a guy who has more experience with tuning European diesel engines than virtually anyone else in North America, and has a friend who had worked for years in V.M. Motori's North American headquarters and therefore has access to information on V.M. Motori's products that nobody else can get.
What puzzles me is, you have been on this forum long enough to know that basic problem with the Libertry CRD O.E. thermostat engine operating temperature issue, and that CRD owners have been trying to increase temperatures for years. Why would you make a statement that seems to conclude that the O.E. thermostat opening temperature is the proper opening temperature?
It seems that you are promoting two very different stories here. One one hand you are stating that the O.E. thermostat is O.K., and on the other you are arguing that Sarge's modified unit is the way to go. About the only common theme here in both stories is that you darn my product with faint praise even though you never even held on in your hands.