Does anyone know if or how a thermostat can be repaired?

Not sure about repairing but replacement units can be purchased from:

http://www.awesomepowdercoat.com/thermosta...ed_rebuilt.html

.

Never done it or seen it,the replacement unit mentioned is your only option,don't be temped to fit the cheap aftermarket one that is used on VW type 1 motors they have a bad reputation for reliability.
They are expensive but whats your engine worth?this is an essential part that people often leave off or have little idea how it helps controls warm up temp and cooling.

I bought one last year and it woks as it should, shipped quickly even returned $25 when he overcharged me for shipping.

Probably best to buy a new thermostat from Awesome Powdercoat, but here's a link that describes the process of repairing one...look under "repair" in the middle of the page. It involves brazing / soldering and using isopropyl alcohol as the expanding medium.

Please post back if you try this and it works!

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/Thermostats.html

Super cool! I always thought that once they failed, they were done. Would love to hear about someone trying this out too.

Well I think I will buy one from Awesome, checked their site and they do stand behind their product. That being said I will check the old one I have and if I can use the process outlined in the post I will give it a try. Will let everyone know how it works out. Thanks for the input and leads.

I purchased one from Awesome about 3 1/2 years ago. Easy transaction, still working fine. For $10 consider buying a new cable also.

Yes, buy the new cable from your local bicycle shop.

I fixed one but boiled out the alcohol before it was fully sealed. Ended up buying two from awesome. Took a couple weeks to get but it was worth it.

all good that's up to you ,its your engine afterall,check the samba.com for threads on them,even if it woks (?) fine now it won't do that for long.
More people are running oil temp gauges and CHT monitoring so I guess its not so issue but I wouldn't use one.

But the good news is, the t-stat when failed or removed, cooling flaps are in the warmed up position, therefore no worries of overheating, just takes longer in cool weather to warm up.

I had problems with Awesome, Would not buy from him.

What a bummer....

For me the purchase went well, but I also realize with independent vendors consistency is sometimes lacking...