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By charliemccraney - 12 Years Ago
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On the way back from Columbus, the truck was running hot and I had to keep it under 65mph in order to keep it cool enough to get home. So I did some preliminary checks, make sure the coolant level is good, make sure the gauge is still indicating correctly, make sure timing was right, that the plugs look normal and that the lower hose was not collapsing. This all checked out, so the next best guess is the thermostat and it turns out it was the problem.
It was a Robert Shaw type Mr Gasket 4367, 180 degree with over 10000 miles but I'm not sure of the exact mileage because it looks like I did not record it. I replaced it with a Milodon 16406 mostly because the Milodon is made in the USA and MR gasket is Made in China.
I used a heat gun to heat them to about 210 degrees and here you can see how far it should open (right) and how far it was opening (left). The good one pictured (right) is actually a 160 degree that I got from Stewart components years ago. I think it will go in my "roadtrip spare stuff box" for next time since they aren't that easy to find. Even standard Mopar (same as the Y) thermostats aren't very common at the parts stores.
If it really matters to you, it looks like the made in USA component has writing on the side and a shorter copper dealamajig in the center and a stainless pointy end while the made in China component has no writing and a taller copper dealamajig with a brass pointy end. It matters to me, but who knows if that info may actually be useful.
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By Lou - 12 Years Ago
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What rearend gear are yiou running, do you have overdrive?
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By charliemccraney - 12 Years Ago
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I have a 3.70 rear with a .63 overdrive.
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By 56_Fairlane - 12 Years Ago
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If I may add, the chinese one looks like a cheap piece of crap.
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By GREENBIRD56 - 12 Years Ago
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Charlie - thanks for the useful info..... do you suppose the bronze pin is the key issue? The loss of travel could be gunk or maybe loss of wax in the "pill" cylinder.
I dug out my stash of left-overs and the 160º Mr. Gasket looks like your 160º Stewart version. It has the steel (stainless?) operating pin in the bronze "pill" - stamped markings on the barrel. Maybe the 180º was a change of vendors for Mr G.
Guess I know a good choice for a spare now! 
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By charliemccraney - 12 Years Ago
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There was some brown looking gooey stuff on it. I don't know if that was the wax or something else. It's either something limiting the travel or the loss of the wax. I could try to dissect it. I didn't notice that same brown stuff anywhere else.
3 examples certainly is not enough to generalize a way to identify the country of origin, but the limited evidence I have does indicate that there may be a trend. The MR Gasket was purchased while I had the previous build of the engine which is over 6 years ago. I had the 160 degree Stewart thermostat in the Mr. Gasket packaging and that packaging indicates made in China. How long ago did you get the 160 degree? If anything, the first round of Mr. Gaskets may have been made in USA and was sent to China for manufacturing shortly after.
The Made in USA ones are also a bit shorter which makes installation easier with the bypass hose in place.
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