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How do I replace the thermostat?

My 1998 Honda was recently overheating when the radiator busted. I replaced the radiator but the car is still overheating. I realized the fans aren't turning on. I took it to Firestone & they told me I need my thermostat replaced. I don't want to pay those expensive labor fees, when the part is about $30. I need to know where the thermostat is located & what I need to do to replace. thanks for any help!

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maybe you could give us a few more infos about the car ? model ? engine ?

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Go Maria!

You have to get your hands dirty for this. Honestly, it is a bit of an undertaking. Hazardous fluids, grimy grease, you make not get all the oil off your hands for weeks. Buy some thin rubber gloves at the auto-parts store to prevent messin' up your hands too bad, they run about $2 a pair.

If you have the Honda Shop manual, read the section on replacing the thermostat, and ignore anything I say which contradicts that. Honda knows best. About 1% of owners buy the factory shop manual, which can save many $1000s in repair bills...

But the internet is, at times, better than a factory shop manual.

Please read ALL of this before you start. Preferably twice, since some parts will make a lot more sense the second time.

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INTRO

Estimated time. If you have never done this, or any other work on your own car, this will probably take 4-6 hours. Be careful and safe. Eat before and during, you need your brain at full speed. DO NOT EAT THE COOLANT! IT IS POISON!

If you do tune-ups on your car on a regular basis, this is probably under 2 hours work. Including a break. Sixty minutes if you are in a hurry.

Estimated cost, if you already own the socket set, jack, jackstands, including parts, $15-$20. You may not need the jack and jackstands if the thermostat is on the top hose. You can use the factory scissors jack if need be. PLEASE buy jack stands if you need to use the jack - 95% of injuries on this job result from not using jackstands!

I am assuming you have a 4 cylinder engine. Pop the hood and count the fancy red (or blue) wires that go from the end of the engine to the "cylinders". If you see 4, we are good, if you see any other number, I may need to take a step back.

All recent (20+ years) honda 4 cylinder engines are the same engine, with minor changes to parts we do not care about for these instructions.

When you go to the auto parts store to buy your thermostat, you will need lots of detail, I suggest you take the car with you so they can read the VIN number if need be.

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TOOLS NEEDED

  • Metric Socket Set
  • Jack (maybe)
  • 2 Jackstands (maybe)
  • Gloves (not a requirement, but a good idea).
  • One or more pairs of Pliers (to open the petcock for fluid removal)
  • Hose removal tools (standard blade screwdriver)

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BACKGROUND

The thermostat sits in the water cooling system for your engine. It is a valve which stays closed until the engine warms up. When it gets hot, it is supposed to open, and let the coolant flow.

When the thermostat is broken, one of two things happens, either it does not open, or it does not close. In your case, it never opens, so the radiator is never used.

Your radiator may not have been bad, but your mechanic made about $300 selling you a new one. If he was worth a dime, he would have replaced your thermostat in the first place. Find a new mechanic when you have a chance, because you will find a task that is too big for you one day, and you will need one.

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FINDING THE PART (Do not take anything apart yet!)

So you need to look at the radiator hoses on your engine to find the thermostat. The thermostat is usually on the Engine Block (the big hunk of metal we usually call "the engine"). There is a top hose, and a bottom hose.

Find the top hose. Start at the top of the radiator, and follow the hose back to the engine. The hose attaches to a hunk of metal which is bolted on to the engine block. That hunk of metal is the Thermostat Housing. You have to take that off, the thermostat is hidden inside.

If the top hose does not seem to have a metal box bolted on to it, then you have to get dirty. Follow the bottom hose, find the thermostat housing. If this fails, make a comment here, with full details on your car (VIN number, model, engine if you know it).

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TOOL CHECK

Do you have a socket set? If not, go buy one, metric. Cheap or Craftsman, you choose. Craftsman tools are guaranteed for life (you should verify that, get it in writing).

If you have a metric socket set, grab it and check the size on the two bolt heads on the thermostat housing. They should be around 10mm. Make sure you have the exact right size. If 10mm is a little loose, get the 9mm and make sure it is a perfect fit. A loose fit will round off the corners, and you have to buy batter/more expensive tools to get the bolt off. Not good.

If none of the metric wrenches seem right, get a US set and check to see if you get a better fit.

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GO GET THE PARTS

Tell them you need a thermostat, and a replacement for the thermostat housing seal, and a gasket scraper. Oh, and super-cheap rubber gloves - I paid $12 for a box of 50. And something to catch the radiator fluid (coolant). Oh, and a gallon of coolant (try to match the color of the coolant in your car - color indicates "type"). If the coolant in your car is clear, get whichever coolant is on sale.

You may need additional details once you start this. If you let me know when you plan to start, then leave me a comment the minute before you go outside to work on it, I can be nearby to help if you get stuck.

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FUTURE PLANS

This is important, and can save you a few dollars, so listen up. Once you replace the thermostat, you have more work to do. You just replaced the radiator, right? You need to protect that investment by flushing your coolant system. You can not do that until after you replace the thermostat! So, you need to decide if you want to do that yourself, or have the shop do it.

If you plan to skip that step (Cooling System Flush), you need to put coolant back, not water! Water will rot out your new radiator in 2-3 years. With coolant, properly mixed, replaced every 2 years, the new radiator could last 20+ years.

If you plan to have the shop do the flush, you can skip the instructions here for buying and mixing the coolant, and for the flush itself.

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BEFORE YOU START Last minute preperations.

If you are working on the top hose, ignore this section.

If you need to jack up the front of the car to gain access to the housing on the lower hose, do it now. Make sure the car is on level ground. Do not do this on a slanted driveway - your chances of dying are way too high.

Depending on the curbs in your neighborhood, you may be able to get the room you need by driving the car up on the curb. Think about how people park in San Francisco, the drive up to a driveway, put the right front tire up on the curb, and then the right rear. YOU WILL NEED HELP FOR THIS. DO NOT ATTEMPT IT ON YOUR OWN. Make sure you trust your spotter 100%, since you could do serious damage to your car.

ANY DAMAGE DONE TO YOUR CARE WHILE ATTEMPTING THIS IS YOUR PROBLEM NOT OURS. We are not there, we can not do it for you, we accept no responsibility.

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JACKING UP THE FRONT

If you are working on the top hose, ignore this section.

Make sure the car is on level ground.

If it is a stick-shift, make sure the engine is off, and put it in gear.

If it is an automatic, put it in PARK.

Put on the parking brake. Usually a handle you pull or a pedal you push.

Put wheel chocks on both sides of both rear wheels.

Jack up the front of the car a little bit higher that you need it to work on it. See your car manual or jack manual. I do not know what you are using.

Put at least 2 adjustable jack stands under the frame of the car, as close as possible to the frame (in height).

Lower down the jack so the front of the car rests on the jack stands. This is best done with two people, one to lower the jack, one to watch from a safe distance to make sure the stands are still in the right place. You can do severe damage to your car (huge $$$$$) trying to do this yourself. Be extremely careful, and be CERTAIN you know the frame from the fender.

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STARTING REMOVAL OF THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING

This is where most people would start this tutorial! You got the deluxe version, so you have a much better idea of what you are in for than most people do when they start.

DRAIN FLUID FROM THE NEW RADIATOR

MAKE SURE THE ENGINE AND RADIATOR ARE AT AMBIENT TEMPERATURE BEFORE STARTING THIS!

How much you drain depends on where the thermostat is located.

If the thermostat is on the upper hose, take out about two quarts.

If the thermostat is on the lower hose, take out about a gallon.

The goal of this step is to reduce the amount of coolant that goes on the ground, and all over your engine compartment. It is icky gooey stuff.

"""NOW put the gloves on!"""

Place your bucket or whatever below the drain pitcock on the radiator. It usually looks like a shaft with a propellor on the end. The shaft is hollow, this is where the coolant comes out.

This can be hard, but should not be very difficult on a new radiator. Hand strength comes in to play. Make sure you are turning it the right way. Be extremely careful to NOT bend the propellor! You may need to use a pair of pliers

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REMOVE THE RADIATOR HOSE THAT IS ATTACHED TO THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING

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REMOVE THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING FROM THE ENGINE BLOCK

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CLEAN THE OLD GASKET OFF THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING

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CLEAN THE OLD GASKET OFF THE ENGINE BLOCK

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PUT SEALANT ON THE HOUSING

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PLACE THE NEW THERMOSTAT IN THE HOUSING???

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BOLT THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING IN PLACE

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PUT THE RADIATOR HOSE BACK ON THE HOUSING

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PUT IN NEW COOLANT

As I talked about earlier

Put in water if you plan to flush the cooling system now

Put in a 50/50 mix of coolant/water (NOT TAP WATER!) if you plan to skip the flush. Remember, the gunk in your engine block is probably the reason all this (radiator AND thermostat) was necessary - it would be nice to flush it out.

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AFTER YOU FINISH THE R&R

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After the thermostat is replaced, you need to flush the cooling system.

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Buy a good engine flush kit? - move this to the buy the parts section!!!!

Suggest a flush, & use hose, or full on kit install???

ARGH!

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MIXUP THE COOLANT

You have some old 1-gallon water bottles laying around, right? Chrystal Geyser made the best ones, with plastic handles (not the new paper handles). Use whatever is handy, but it must be 100% clean, or it may cost you another radiator.

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FLUSH

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<NOT DONE YET!>

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great - one little thing, a good way to get rid of the greasy/oily stoff of your hands is used coffee powder ;-)

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Also: Check the new thermostat before installing by placing it in boiling water on the kitchen stove.... It should POP! indicating that it is working correctly... Also when taking the old stat out note which is front and which is back and put the new stat in the same way or you will be changing it again... Good luck on your endevors... Oh yes forgot to mention about other possible stuff in the way such as air conditioning components and the like... Every auto is different and makes a mechanic that you may be having this done for you a lot of additional man hours and dollars in his pocket... But that is the world system... Good luck again and who knows we and this site may make using a repair person obsolete...

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Maria zal eeuwig dankbaar zijn.
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