How to lower a car thermostat - BMW M54, M62, M62TU, N62, N63, N52, N47, N63TU

107 degrees Celsius to less than 95 degrees Celsius. Opening temp is now 89 degrees.
M54, M62, M62TU, N62, N63, N52, N47, N63TU
OEM part number: 11537586885

[@paperandmedals8316]

Our narrator is not factoring in that the MAP controlled thermostat opens at 94C under certain conditions such as engine temp first reaching 110C, aggressive driving or the engine being under max load such as towing a trailer up a hill. So it’s not how much it opened but how soon it opens. For $30 I purchased an 80C Motorad thermostat for a BMW 840CI M62 and an M60 thermostat housing. It worked perfectly.

[@garettsarafian4208]

where did you purchase it, please let us know

[@onesikm3]

And was that Mated up with the n62 motor ?

[@wacabby]

@@onesikm3 no. this is completely for a different engine.

[@ambientify]

nice... what about a DTC? Does the ECU set a DTC that the thermostat is stuck? Thank you.

[@Jeebus86]

thanks for the explanation

[@Nap_Bg]

do I have to put wax from another thermostat to open earlier or take out wax ??

[@johannjohann6523]

Most NASCAR engines use a 160 degree F thermostat. I figure if it's good enough for NSACAR then it ought to be good enough for me too. It's crazy some of the "modern" cars thermostats operating tempuratures. Now if I can only find a manufacturer, oh wait this video helps with that issue: Outstanding!

[@user-xw4hn7lb3x]

Low IQ, huh? Nascar engines run at a constant 8000rpm when racing. The temps are much higher than 160 degrees at those speeds. Driving around town with a 160 degree thermostat is just a dumb. Engine will run cold.

[@steviepere1822]

Plastic cooling parts on the system would last longer with lower temp thermostat

[@Angelo80907]

After this thermostat alteration. Why do I keep getting CEL P0128 code and my cooling fan keeps running full speed none stop 😂

[@user-xw4hn7lb3x]

Thermostats operate from pressure, not heat. When the thermostat is installed on the car, the hot coolant produces high pressures because the system is sealed, which determines the opening and closing. Testing in a pot of boiling water is not a way to test a thermostat. Place the open end up and you will see since there is no hot water trapped in it to increase pressure, it will not open. Best and right way to control temperature is via tuning software to change engine torque and desired temperature values.

[@mirkofanfani98]

Wrong

[@user-xw4hn7lb3x]

@@mirkofanfani98 Run your car engine without the radiator cap or coolant tank cap install. You will see that the engine temp will keep increasing and overheat, because there is no pressure to open the thermostat. My IQ is extremely high. Don't hate.

[@mirkofanfani98]

@@user-xw4hn7lb3x hahaha how do you fill the antifreeze? with the car running and the cap open. right? the thermostat open with heat because it has expanding element inside. you can see on youtube test with thermostat inside hot water that open with head and no pressure. you are 100% wrong, no hate

[@onesikm3]

Lmao you mean no IQ

[@kirilakmadjov8307]

You smart armchair mechanic, The thermostat opens cause of temperature at which the wax inside the thermostat melts.The reason the car will overheat if you leave the radiator cap open is because at atmospheric pressure water starts to boil at 100degrees, but if you raise the pressure of the water system by 1 bar the boiling temperature will go to 120degrees.Next time you tryna be a smart ass atleast do a bit of research

[@Cangluoak]

Hi, ecologicaltime, below some one commented adding 0.2 g of wax caused the thermostat stay open, not being able to back to fully closed status. Edited: Well I watched again, you said you added 0.5 g, but video shows you might added just 0.05 g. Any comment?

[@ecologicaltime]

yes what the scale shows was 0.0x so i must have misspoken.

[@Cangluoak]

@@ecologicaltime This is the best way I learnt to reduce that bothering some high engine operational temperature. Many thanks for your contribution the community.

[@ecologicaltime]

thank you for showing that to me, i am removing that statement from the video so others do not have a problem.

[@wierdodude102]

​​@@ecologicaltime so 0.06g is the correct amount of wax to add? And Thank you for showing us this method! And also remember to change the expansion tank cap from the 200kpa to a 140kpa cap. This will reduce the cooling system pressure and also reduce/eliminate cooling system failures.

[@ecologicaltime]

Hi. I think so. It was a while ago. Its been working on mine very well and a second one i did slso working right. The scale shows the amount i used. Thanks for the tip

[@ANDYW031084]

Good job ! I did mod too mine opens at 85c

[@larryjohnson8168]

Can you use any wax from any thermostat?

[@ANDYW031084]

Look on internet for the lower temp thermostat for your car. You safe time and is more safer,modifying thermostat like this you are risking Failure if this get stuck in close position then bye bye engine

[@ANDYW031084]

And second think is electric cooling fan is programmed in DME to turn on 100c or so and same with mechanical fan is calibrated to turn on in Different temperatures, this thermostat mood will only work when you are On the highway or car is moving . So Once you get stuck in traffic the temperature will Raise up over 100c because your original cooling fans are calibrated to turn on factory spec. So you might need some electric fan conversion so you can adjust your fan when to turn on , or some Software modification in DME.

[@anthonyk]

Doesn't this also help prevent the valve stem seals from failing

[@Ssg.r3ll]

Yes

[@larryjohnson8168]

With everything else

[@raidaru]

I've put like max 0.2g and I can't put it back,it stays 2 cm open

[@Cangluoak]

guess you have to take the wax chamber out and heat it again to get rid of a little to fix this. The OP put is 0.5 g and it seemed fine, you put in 0.2 g and it would not fully close? Strange.

[@ecologicaltime]

sorry the scale showed 0.06

[@larryjohnson8168]

This isn’t the same thermostat for m62, u can’t get the wax out

[@povdrivekls8369]

buying a e38 740Diesel thermostat in fit it in petrol one will help , they look the same , i will try to my car

[@simeonmarinov2017]

Did it work?

[@ktm640lc4BGD]

I did this on my N62 and temp is perfect around 90 degrees. But I am constantly having "thermostat stuck open" error because it never reaches 105 degrees. ECU think the coolant is still "cold" and it is pumping more fuel than it should, so my fuel consumption increased around 10%. I want to trick ECU into thinking it has reached 105 degrees by changing the signal from sensor. But mt problem is: i don know which sensor, which wire and that signal it is... Should i just install in series potentiometer to lower the voltage or connect potentiometer to 12v to increase the voltage? And if so which sensor and which wire? I thought the sensor on thermostat is giving the temperature to ECU and i should cut there, but now you said that is heating element... Than which sensor should i cut to manipulate the signal giving temp to the ECU? ANYONE??? We all need that if we want to lower the temp from 105 to 90....

[@WladyslawAntonsiewicz9627]

I hate the fact that they open at 105⁰ C i wonder if using ISTA it is possible to reprogram the thermostat map. Logically you have to deal with the the temperature sensor... I am thinking of understanding how the ecu reads the temperature value and then I can set the start point plus 10⁰ so the ecu opens the thermostat at 95⁰ but it thinks it is 105⁰

[@ktm640lc4BGD]

@@WladyslawAntonsiewicz9627 I have INPA + ISTA and was not able to find that option. If you know where to look, please share with the class.

[@WladyslawAntonsiewicz9627]

@@ktm640lc4BGD honestly I didn't look for it, I left it on 105⁰ If I will do so I will let you know

[@wot48320]

I purchased an aftermarket 90C thermostat, never had any error/code. 2008 550i

[@ktm640lc4BGD]

@@wot48320 so? how does that help here?

[@wierdodude102]

This is bad information. It is not the amount of wax that has any thing to do with the opening temperatures. It is the calibration of metals in the wax and their melting points that create the opening temperature. The lower the melting point of the wax the sooner the thermostat opens. You need to replace all the wax in the thermostat with the wax from a different thermostat with a lower opening temperature.

[@fortnitemane0919]

What would you have to buy

[@wierdodude102]

​@@fortnitemane0919 a thermostat with a lower temperature spec. Get the wax out of it and put it into your thermostat

[@jason.arthur.taylor]

Yeah. The speaker has no clue, but he is correct about adding current as a fix. You are also wrong though. The metal has nothing to do with it. The way these works is that when going from a solid to liquid, the wax expands by 15%. The melting temp is a function of the molecular weight. He gets cooler temps, but it will probably be a function of the outside temperature.

[@noanyobiseniss7462]

Enjoyed your video and learned a bit but find it ironically amusing that your channel name is ecological when you are actively attempting to make a vehicle run less ecological. LOL

[@ecologicaltime]

thanks. If the temp is left high the car overheats and degrades and does not last as long. So for sure it will use more fuel at low revs but you wont be needing new parts anytime soon...

[@noanyobiseniss7462]

@@ecologicaltime Maybe, I know heat is the enemy of engines but I'm a electrical/computer engineer so don't have the proper knowledge to argue the point of efficiencies of function v/s time. I know my engine has been running efficient for over 250k miles so I am not going to mess with it but back in the day I used to use lower thermostats in my vehicles. But that was before engineers started writing algorithms for burns under load and such so these days I just don't feel educated enough to second guess them.

[@ecologicaltime]

I hear you. With this particular car they designed it to go above 100 degrees for idle and traffic driving to meet the emissions goals but the problem is that while the heat is fine for the engine, its not fine for the cooling system which invariably fails. One common failure on this car is the car leaks coolant and then its a whole other story. Some people have ceased their engine. Mine used to go to 112 degrees. My garage would stay warm for hours after the car was parked. So global warming is also a problem (joke). Thanks for your comments.

[@noanyobiseniss7462]

@@ecologicaltime Good convo, I would probably err on the side of caution in your case as well. :)