mdb20

Does anybody know the correct OEM temperature for the Teg's thermostat. I've checked the owners manual and the Haynes manual, but it's not listed in the specifications. I guess there's a 170, 180 and 192 degree available. I replaced it a few years ago with one from Honda, but I may have got one that's too cold or its the 170 degree. I haven't had any issues, but the guage sits about 1/3 of the way off of "C". The car is getting good mpg and is heating up quickly and has plenty of heat when warmed up. Just checking to see what the spec is, etc.

Schwa

My Haynes manual says "Thermostat Rating 195F"

Would that means it opens at 195?

mdb20

Yeah you're right, the Haynes does say that the "thermostat rating" is 195 degrees. I must have missed that when I was skimming over the manual. I was really surprised that it wasn't listed in the Integra owners manual. Everything else seems to be in there, whether important or not. The Haynes doesn't state, but I think the 195 rating is the fully open temp. I'm not sure though. I'm gonna go over to the Honda dealership today and find out which temps they have in stock and which one they think is the right one. I think when I changed it about 3 years ago, the lady at another Honda dealership gave me the wrong one, or the incorrect info, on what the right temp would be for the car. I guess it's my fault for not double checking. The car has been running fine and has plenty of heat and no problems since the change. It just seemed to me that the car was running a little colder than it should.

mdb20

So I just called the Honda parts dept right down the street from my house and they were sort of helpful. The lady on the phone said that there was only 1 thermostat that they showed for the Integra in their parts catalog and that it was in stock. I asked what the temp rating was on the thermostat they had and the lady said that she didn't know, it wasn't listed. She also said that there was no way of knowing which temperature of thermo was in my car without the original receipt showing the part number. This would not show the temp, it would just show if the part # was correct in the first place 3 years ago. I guess there is no engraving or part number on the thermostat itself. I suppose you could use a thermometer in the coolant to check, but I'm not gonna go through that much trouble for something that's working ok in the first place. Just giving everyone else a heads up. Anybody with any additional info, feel free to make comments.

Lynxs1981

That sounds about right. My GSR runs around 1/3 of the way up, maybe slightly less.

Khazzy

yeah thats how mine runs as well, 99 gs here, you should be good dude, 1/3 of the way is where mine has always been

Spec R

as long as it stays 1/3 you're fine. its when it drops below 1/3 or goes above it you have to worry about it

mdb20

So, yesterday I was bored and it was 24 degrees outside, so I decided to change the thermo in my car. Luckily, my garage is partially heated, so it wasn't terribly cold. I'm almost positive that the thermo's been sticking partially open. This was allowing the car to heat up ok, but not all the way. It was also causing the car to take a long time to heat up unless I was on the highway or not using the heater in town as the car was warming up. Regardless, I figured I'd change the thermo and see what happens. I picked up a thermo at the Acura dealer since it was a few bucks cheaper than Honda and the lady I talked to in the parts department at Honda in December is an idiot. So I took the thermostat out of the car, for my 4th time (1 time in my 96LS and 3 times in this 95LS). It was more of a pain than I remember from 3 years ago when I put in a Honda thermo. I have a strut tower bar and a AEM V2 intake now, so they made the removal more difficult than before, by being in the way a little. It sucks because I have frying pans for hands and this car was designed to be driven and worked on by people who were less than 5'10" and way under 200lbs I guess. I fit in neither category. I got the thermo out of the package and on the outer casing of the thermo there was an engraving stating 78 degrees Celsius which is 172.4 degrees Farenheight. It's the same temp as the one that I've had in there for 3 years so that's good. The lady at Honda on the other hand has no idea what she's talking about. She told me in December, that the thermo temp wasn't listed on the thermo itself and that I wouldn't be able to tell by looking at it, unless I had a receipt from 3 years ago with the part #. Both of those statements were false. So I got it fixed with no major problems or hiccups, and I decided to write this to give everybody a heads up on the correct temp for the thermo either OEM or aftermarket. The Haynes Manual says 195 degrees, so I'm pretty sure that's the fully open temperature since the thermo itself is rated at 172 degrees. So somewhere close to 175 degrees would be the one to by if not buying the OEM part.

A-series

^ I was going to say that I thought it was 170-something if I remembered correctly. Wasn't sure if that was fully open or not. I've never purchased anything but an oem thermostat, but I've heard it's worth it to get oem over aftermarket... also to replace the gasket when you replace it (sometimes has to be ordered/purchased separately).

I've never driven an integra extensively enough to remember it's normal temp. gauge reading, but of the Hondas I've driven regularly, the temp. guage usually sits 1/3 to 1/2 of the way up on the gauge. Normally just below 1/2 when fully warm and driving.