[a32axo]

My wahler failed at 1000 miles some of them come defective I got mine from bma. Exchanged it for behr. Search wahler and u will find some threads were wahler leaks at connection.

 

[jfoj]

Mango,

I keep forgetting about the E46 and the heated stat, however, Stant does list one, seems to be more expensive that Behr or Whaler, not sure if Stant is just a reboxed Behr or Whaler???

But again, Stant covers many applications and in the M5 application is far cheaper than most other options out there.

 

[Mango]

maybe you guys should go genuine BMW if you're that concerned! i'll probably go Behr next time now that these stories are coming out...

 

[Solidjake]

Genuine would turn out to be Wahler.

 

[briangl92]

Behr, my wahler recently leaked from connection

My Behr has started leaking from the exact same spot. I'm getting it replaced under warranty. It was only installed at the end of March.

 

[Mango]

Uh oh we got some bad news Behrs!

I think it's a shot in the dark here. Go for either one and pray you'll get lucky!

 

[teamdfl]

Behr and Wahler are about the same and were both OE for the M54 at some point during production. They both are terrible but they are not nearly as horrible as the other thermostats out there.

 

[briangl92]

Uh oh we got some bad news Behrs!

I think it's a shot in the dark here. Go for either one and pray you'll get lucky!

:werd: It's odd that they both have the same weak spot though - at the electrical connector.

 

[VALMONT]

:bump:

 

[BMW-North]

Ha ha - just saw this old thread after the guy above posted nothing. Too funny - arguing about the best of the worst. Everyone knows that VEMO makes the best cooling parts for German cars including the E46 T-Stat - just friggin' expensive and tough to source this side of the pond. So next time your company sends you on a business trip to Euro pack the empty suitcase with a bunch of VEMO parts for the ol' bim bim on the way 'ome.

 

[VALMONT]

Ha ha - just saw this old thread after the guy above posted nothing. Too funny - arguing about the best of the worst. Everyone knows that VEMO makes the best cooling parts for German cars including the E46 T-Stat - just friggin' expensive and tough to source this side of the pond. So next time your company sends you on a business trip to Euro pack the empty suitcase with a bunch of VEMO parts for the ol' bim bim on the way 'ome.

If I knew this last week...

Sent from my HTC One X using BimmerApp mobile app

 

[Bali]

slightly off topic...

Mango,

I keep forgetting about the E46 and the heated stat, however, Stant does list one, seems to be more expensive that Behr or Whaler, not sure if Stant is just a reboxed Behr or Whaler???

But again, Stant covers many applications and in the M5 application is far cheaper than most other options out there.

JFOJ,

I have a soft-failing T-stat, just like so many you mentioned in your thread. It opens too soon; takes 25 mins. to get to 95C.

Will install a replacement this weekend and do some diags on the old part. Would like to figure out exactly why they fail in this manner. Have you ever done this?

 

[VALMONT]

Soft fail after many years...

Sent from my HTC One X using BimmerApp mobile app

 

[Solidjake]

FYI I went with Wahler this time to replace my Behr back in May before my cross country trip. No issues.

 

[VALMONT]

Mine is wahler, its done many miles without issue. Replaced it so long ago I don't even know how old it is.

Sent from my HTC One X using BimmerApp mobile app

 

[PapiOcho]

My PO replaced the factory t-stat with wahler, by a repair shop, around 90k at 131k I refreshed it all and I'm pretty sure a wahler came in the kit from ECS..

2k miles later and all is well.

Sent from BimmerApp mobile app

 

[jfoj]

JFOJ,

I have a soft-failing T-stat, just like so many you mentioned in your thread. It opens too soon; takes 25 mins. to get to 95C.

Will install a replacement this weekend and do some diags on the old part. Would like to figure out exactly why they fail in this manner. Have you ever done this?

I have looked at a lot of stats over the years and for the time I invested in inspecting them, here is my conclusion as to what seems to happen.

The failures typically seem to be the main spring gets weak and allows the stat to open too early. What I found was the actually opening distance was pretty much the same on a failed stat vs. a new stat once you got up into the higher temperature range.

That the distance opened over temperature was pretty much the same, makes since due the wax pellet. I believe the wax pellet has air space or is charged with gas and the pellet capsule is not fully filled, it would be hard to have the pellet totally filled anyway. What happens is the wax pellet expands and compresses against an void/gas space inside the capsule and pre-loads the primary spring. Once the primary spring tension is overcome by the wax pellet, the stat starts to open.

Again, from the units I looked at and tested closely everything pointed to a weak main spring allowing the stat to open prematurely, but in the end the distance the stat opened was pretty much the same, just the actual opening temp was a bit lower.

Springs do not last forever and the more the spring is open and closed and exposed to heat, the shorter the spring life will be. The spring tempering process and material is very important for a long lifespan. Any shortcut in the spring material, wire diameter or heat treating process will allow a spring to fail in a short time frame.

 

[///M Protocol]

I have a Wahler on my car and I know it's failing/failed. 77C and the needle is in the middle? I think not.

what should the correct temperature should be (or at least the range)

 

[Solidjake]

I think 88-105 or something.

 

[///M Protocol]

I know a cold engine is bad but I never knew running a cooler engine would be such a bad idea. I thought heat is the number one threat to an engine and you want to lower the temperature as much as possible (of course to a certain extent).
I know bmw makes a special thermostat for our engine block with a lower temperature range for opening/closing. let me see if I can find it.