Have had many stants. Many of them have failed. Stuck open most of the time. Some went with old cars that I sold. One stuck shut & overheated (2.3 turbo) took out the engine before I caught it. On my '93 LX (2.3L) I bought a Stant. Stuck it in. Worked fine...all is good. Year later I'm watching my fuel mileage drop from mid 30's to mid 20's and at the same time I am seeing the temp gauge stay WAY down there..not much off of 130. Air temp was in the 40's typically at the time. Pulled the stat housing back, thermostat stuck OPEN. Ordered a Robertshaw thermostat from one of the parts stores and stuck that one in. They didn't have any stants or murrays and Ford didn't carry one for a Ranger or Mustang with a 2.3...so I figured why not try a Robertshaw brand. Made in USA completely (stat and package both). Stuck it in, tested after bleeding the cooling system. Temp gauge now runs up about halfway-which is tested on the ECT at 195° engine temp. All is good. Drove back & forth to GF's house a few times and mileage is back up to mid 30's...upper 30's if I drove like an egg was under my right foot (rare..with a 2.3 it's got to be on the floor most of the time). That t-stat has been in the car for about 3 years and about 100,000 miles before the engine got loose (was a used engine to begin with). Matter of fact the stat is still in the engine. Engine is not in a car though.
Same deal on my 5.0. Robertshaw all the way. Never an issue with it. Heats up quickly, keeps heat in it (doesn't fluctuate) and gets good mileage. So far.
