how to change the Thermostat

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tonyd

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can someone post a how to or pictures of where it is.

'02 LS V6

Thanks
 
pull off the engine appearance cover and on the front of the engine on the top you'll see where all the big hoses go in. It's in there. If you are overheating I can tell you this is 99.9999% probably NOT the problem. these thermostats are known to fail "open" which causes the car to not heat up. If you are overheating you likely have an airlock and/or a leak in the system.
 
thanks for the info. BTW, i am not overheating, just the opposite.
 
follow the hose #1 - it goes into the throat of the thremostat...

the thremostat is where #2 points held in by 3 bolts.

30 (Small).JPG
 
is there a picture of this petcock on the radiator on the v8? I see a hose down there with a bolt in it with a clamp around the bolt.
 
it's a white plug with a hex head on it - pointing straight down, at the bottom, passenger side of the rad. just above it is a little spout where the coolant will pour out.

I usually put a piece of hose over the spout and run it into a catch, before you start unscrewing the petcock. You do not completely remove the petcock, simply loosen it enough for the coolant to start flowing out the spout.
 
no, no, no... that's how NOT to change a thermostat. :p

It's a pretty tight fit. I actually removed that clamp too, and slid the hose out of the way and took that piece out with the tstat. Nowhere does it say to do that, but I did.

Did you break it while removing the old tstat, or getting the new one in?
 
I'm also wondering if you can just use that piece the way it is. As long as you got all the plastic pieces out, that is. Should be okay, but I don't know for sure.
 
I didn't break that piece. That's what I found when I pulled my thermostat out. Was not happy and I didn't see any pieces either so its either at the bottom of the radiator or in the return hose to the radiator. I'm hoping the previous owner broke it took the piece.out and said good enough. There was not much flared edge on it to catch the hose so I didn't want to put it back together half ass. I ordered one from o'reilly's. I shoukd have it by 8 tonight so hopefully should be runing again tonight.
 
schweet. I was afraid you were going to say it only came as part of the coolant tree (about $100 IIRC)
 
Ok. Got the thermostat in bled the system multiple times and now I don't have super hot heat anymore. I ran the climate control test and scored 8's across the bored. What's up?
 
It seems like there are three most likely possibilities.

1. You didn't get all the air out - Probably not it since you tried multiple times. Did you get a steady stream of water out of the bleed when you got to the 2500 RPM part?

2. Your DCCV is stuck or clogged due to crud getting washed into it.

3. Your heater cores are clogged due to crud getting washed into them.

I'd take the DCCV and aux pump (if you have a V8) out and inspect/clean them.
 
joegr said:
It seems like there are three most likely possibilities.

1. You didn't get all the air out - Probably not it since you tried multiple times. Did you get a steady stream of water out of the bleed when you got to the 2500 RPM part?

2. Your DCCV is stuck or clogged due to crud getting washed into it.

3. Your heater cores are clogged due to crud getting washed into them.

I'd take the DCCV and aux pump (if you have a V8) out and inspect/clean them.
Click to expand...

I did get a steady stream coming out at 2500 RPM. In the process of bleeding there though I did lose my bleeder screw and had to use a bolt that threaded in. Could that be an issue? I went to 3 ford dealers looking for the replacement which is sitting somewhere in my engine bay and none of the diagrams they showed me even listed it. That's why I had to go to the random bolt drawer and find one that fit.

I ran the climate control test and got 8's all the way across so that means my dccv is good right? Today's project is going to be pulling off the aux pump and attempting to clean that.
 
it sounds like an air pocket or gunk causing the interior loop to not flow. It's not uncommon to have to open the top of the cooling tree and then squeeze all the hoses one by one watching for air bubbles. I have drianed/filled/bleed my system nearly 50 times, so I thought I was pretty good at it, but one time it took nearly all afternoon to loosen the one air pocket the got stuck in there...

the bleeder tip is part of the hose assembly the can be ordered with the degas bottle. I do not know if you can get it without the degas bottle.
 
Quik LS said:
it sounds like an air pocket or gunk causing the interior loop to not flow. It's not uncommon to have to open the top of the cooling tree and then squeeze all the hoses one by one watching for air bubbles. I have drianed/filled/bleed my system nearly 50 times, so I thought I was pretty good at it, but one time it took nearly all afternoon to loosen the one air pocket the got stuck in there...

the bleeder tip is part of the hose assembly the can be ordered with the degas bottle. I do not know if you can get it without the degas bottle.
Click to expand...

Thanks Quik,
I'll try bleeding it that way then. Am I hurting anything plugging the hose with a bolt?
 
it's the air bleed - meaning it's at the top level of the cooling system, where the air should technically gather and then you allow it to escape out the screw hole. That's why it's important to make sure the car is level when bleeding (not on ramps, jack stands, ...etc)/

So as long as you can close it - air tight - you will be fine.
 
this is the part # for a Gen2.... can't remember what year yours is cannons

8C289 Air bleed hose
 
cannons_custom said:
I did get a steady stream coming out at 2500 RPM. In the process of bleeding there though I did lose my bleeder screw and had to use a bolt that threaded in. Could that be an issue? I went to 3 ford dealers looking for the replacement which is sitting somewhere in my engine bay and none of the diagrams they showed me even listed it. That's why I had to go to the random bolt drawer and find one that fit.

I ran the climate control test and got 8's all the way across so that means my dccv is good right? Today's project is going to be pulling off the aux pump and attempting to clean that.
Click to expand...

All "8"s only means that there is no electrical problem detected with the DCCV. It could still be clogged or mechanically stuck. I also found out that there is a plastic screen in the upper radiator hose where it tees off to the DCCV. That screen could get clogged too.

I think that you are okay with the replacement bolt in the air bleed. All it has to do is to seal the opening off. Get the car to full operating temperature and then squeeze the upper radiator hose. If it is hard to squeeze, then the system is sealed and pressurized. (Even if it isn't sealed, that wouldn't keep the heater from working well.)
 
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