Ever Changed T-Stat?

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PioneerCrazed

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I'm getting ready to change my t-stat, I'm going to use Geno's method. Hopefully it all goes well.

1.)Draining the coolant, that's out of the radiator; correct?
2.)Also, I bought 2 gallons of 50/50 mixed coolant, will that be enough when I'm refilling?

I know these are dumb questions, just trying to sort it all out. I don't have another car to run out to get something in the middle of the project.

Geno's way:
The pattented tried and proven 10 minute tstat swap consists of the followong:

1) Get car in the air via ramps or a lift and drain the coolant.
2) Get yourself a 3/8 drive ratchet and a 10mm socket on a 2ft extension.
3) Come in from the bottom and wiggle the sockets way up to the tstat housing bolts and break loose and remove.

Its that simple. It takes 10 minutes in most cases. Becareful eventhough you drain the coolant its still VERY messy.
Click to expand...

Thanks
 
bah.. i didnt take me 10 mins, alot more..... it wasnt that hard to get apart, but getting it back together with the gasket in place sucked.. i think i was at it for an hour.. but doing it a second time i bet i could do it alot faster.. i fought with that stupid gasket for ever..
 
Damn, that sucks... Did you take all the hoses off, or did you go at it pretty much like Geno said?

That damned gasket cost me 6 bucks!!!

Oh, and I just found out my water pump is leaking... Woohoo!
 
PioneerCrazed said:
Damn, that sucks... Did you take all the hoses off, or did you go at it pretty much like Geno said?

That damned gasket cost me 6 bucks!!!

Oh, and I just found out my water pump is leaking... Woohoo!
Click to expand...

i did my t stat and water pump in early feb.

my t stat came with the gasket????

i tried geno's way,unfortunately for me the bolts were seized.ended up taking entire housing and hoses off.otherwise it would have been simple job.

water pump is easy too,be glad you can do it all at once while coolant is out,

i think 2 gallons will be about right.
 
yes i did, and the first time it was a bitch...but after i saw how it all worked out...it took 5 min.
 
The difficulty depends on how tight the bolts on the thermostat housing are torqued. A few months after I bought my '93 I decided to change the thermostat. The bolts in mine were stuck good. In fact they were so stuck in there that I had to remove the housing from the car and use a vice and a breaker bar with these:
52166000?layer=comp&wid=190&hei=190&fmt=jpeg&qlt=75,0&op_sharpen=0&resMode=norm&op_usm=0.5,1.0,0.jpg

...to get them out. Mind you, I'm no weakling. That breaker bar was necessary; I don't think the thermostat housing had been opened since the vehicle was built.

Oh yeah, the factory hose clamps can be a pain to remove too. I suggest replacing them with ones that you can tighten with a screw driver.

After you've changed a thermostat once, it should be a lot easier to do in the future.
 
The Geno way is good, but the gasket can be tricky.
Watch for leaks, and maybe apply some gasket sealant on the housing as well.
 
You never need any kind of sealant, thats what the gasket is for. Why does eveyone have trouble with the gasket? Just set it on the top and slide the bottom half into the top half.
 
no sealant and spring clamps. i hate worm clamps.


if its properly cleaned you dont need any kind of sealant.
 
I had replaced the rad, tstat. I know i didnt have to remove those hoses. Just removed em for a lil more space to work with.
 
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