F201-15-171A Thermostat

[SWRT]

F201-15-171A

Does this 2-stage thermostat require a gasket? If so, does anyone have the part number?

[william]

You'll need a tstat housing gasket.
Autozone always has,them in stock here and If you want a cheap 2 stage thermostat get one for a 90 miata there the 2 stage, at least from autozone they are. And there 192° like factory.
I didn't see any improvement in warm up or cooling with the 2 stage one though.

[SWRT]

So the gasket would be for the Miata as well, then?

[william]

No festiva, but they may be the same I'm unsure. The gasket doesn't go on the t Stat it go between the housing and head.

Also when reassembling is make sure the tstat can't fall down if it dose and you go to tighten your housing it can Crack very easy.
I've had this happen to me
Many on here have also. I like yo use a drop of super glue to hold it in place, the time it broke I didn't have any glue and figed ahh it will be ok. It won't fall ... and pop cracked it.

[Bert]

This is one thing you can actually fabricate yourself! Gasket material is cheap and comes in sheets and you merely trace the housing on to it as a template for cutting with scissors or a utility knife. You will want to use some silicone anyway. The one notoriously common and hugely embarrassing mistake Festy owners make, in playing with thermostats, is not to put 'a little dab of do-ya' (tape or adhesive, such as super-glue (mentioned above)) on the thermostat itself to hold it in place within the recess as the housing is aligned and tightened. Failure to do this (with an accidentally slipped stat) and there will be leaks and then (thanks to the usual desperate overtightening) there will be a cracked and irreparable housing. Corner stores do not carry Festy housings anymore nor do Mazda or Ford dealers or automotive suppliers and these seemingly simple things have become as scarce as hen's teeth over the past 20 years! In a pinch you can substitute a B3 Aspire thermo housing (which are probably even more rare, but at least nobody wants those) but you'll have to drill out and thread the casting bung to accept the Festy thermo-sensor that you cannot omit because it signals the radiator fan switch.
As to thermostats; I played that game for 10 years (aftermarket vs OEM, single stage vs 2 stage) in three different Festys because I happen to live in a cold climate and the heaters in Festys don't work worth a bedsheet, and over the long run found there to be no difference at all. Any version of 180 opens cooler than a 192 and any hot thermostat sends hotter water on through the heater core.

[rickbz28]

Bert wrote. "In a pinch you can substitute a B3 Aspire thermo housing (which are probably even more rare, but at least nobody wants those)"
Oh come on some people still want those Aspires. I can go out to my pole barn and see 7 Aspires along with my Festiva.

[SWRT]

Fortunately I have a new thermostat housing from Fourgreen so hopefully I'm good ok that front. Thanks for the info, guys!

[Bert]

Bert wrote. "In a pinch you can substitute a B3 Aspire thermo housing (which are probably even more rare, but at least nobody wants those)"
Oh come on some people still want those Aspires. I can go out to my pole barn and see 7 Aspires along with my Festiva.

Wow! What do you call a collection of Aspires; herd, flock, gaggle, congregation? You'd have had to work to gather up that many here; bone yards and recyclers didn't leave them out for public scavenging for even so much as 5 minutes! I think I've seen only one on the road during the past 5 years.

[jawja jim]

Wow! What do you call a collection of Aspires; herd, flock, gaggle, congregation?

Anything but a "congress". Too many negative connotations with that word.