Hi Scotty: I am changing my thermostat on my 2006 5.3 L 1500 Chevy Suburban and I ordered a Dorman thermostat off of Amazon part number 131-160 and GM# 89018168. The thermostat is not attached to the housing unit and the rubber gasket does not fit well in the housing so my question is: How important is it for the rubber gasket to fit tightly in the housing unit? Any videos on that? Thank you so very much.
when I look up your thermostat on Rockauto it comes up as GM part# 12581595 or ACDelco 131143
Make sure you have the correct part.
The thermostat I have is a Dorman and I thought it was OEM so perhaps it is junk?
what was the difference in price? Dorman versus GM/ACDelco?
OEM is best for thermostats whenever possible.
It is a Dorman and thought their products were OEM. Perhaps not.
To my knowledge Dorman parts are aftermarket. I don't know what company GM originally used as a supplier for those thermostats.
Definitely not OEM. A pretty far cry from it, I would say
Okay, thought Dorman was OEM according to Scotty Kilmer. I must have heard that wrong, Thanks for clearing that up for me.
The thermostat is not attached to the housing unit and the rubber gasket does not fit well
A photo would speak volumes.
How important is it for the rubber gasket to fit
the gasket keeps the coolant from leaking out
Thank you MountainManJoe.
Dorman is good for brackets and such, but I would only go with OEM thermostats.
If the one you got is loose in the housing, it won't work right. No coolant should flow past the thermostat if it's closed. A loose thermostat will let that happen, and you'll have problems getting up to temperature when cold. I changed the thermostat in my '79 Pontiac over the weekend and used an AC Delco thermostat from RockAuto. It fit in the housing like a glove, and was made in the US. The gasket was also made in the US by FEL Pro.
Look at the Dorman thermostat and gasket packaging and see where it was made. Probably made in the People's Republic.
