Thermostat removal

[mrfil13]

Hi,

Im planning to change the thermostat this weekend and just want to ask two questions, firstly whats the best way to remove the bottom bolt? Can i get at it with a socket and some extensions or am i best removing the battery and the metal plate it rests on?

The reason i ask is that me and bolts dont get on well so i would prefer to find out if the bolts will come out easily enough before i start draining the coolant. As a last resort is the thermostat housing just held on by the one big bolt on the left hand side of it?

Finally i need to get some tools to remove the damn spring jubilee clips, apart from some plasters what would you recommend to help remove them, ive seen some circlips which might work for awkard angles if they have enough leverage.

Actually one last question i forgot about, how is the expansion bolt held on, i want to flush the entire system.

Thanks

[Kooga]

I just did mine with a spanner..took a while as you can't turn it much, but patience wins eventually

[mrfil13]

Cheers fingers crossed for a nice weekend.

[kaiowas]

I just did mine with a spanner..took a while as you can't turn it much, but patience wins eventually

I don't know how I ever lived without ratchet spanners

Oh and just to add something useful to the thread - The expansion bottle is just slid onto a bracket. Pull it upwards and it should come off.

[mrfil13]

Cheers guys, any advice on the tools to get the clips off?

For the racthet spanners do these look ok

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165572

[kaiowas]

They'll be no good to you as they're Torx ones. Either of these 2 look to be the best value on there at the moment:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65572#dtab

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165572

Not sure how useful the flex head ones are in use as I have the fixed head ones (which are currently at full price so not worth buying right now)

[mrfil13]

Might just get the then, its the same but its just a 10mm one, spent a fair bit on tools recently.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165469

Not to sound daft but whats the difference between them and the torx?

Thanks

[kaiowas]

Torx is the proper name for the 'star' type screws etc used on things sometimes. Those ratchet spanners you posted are actually for E-Torx, or external Torx, which are kind of the inverse so they're for bolts which have a star shaped head rather than a conventional hex.

[mrfil13]

ok thanks ive seen torx before but only something about the size of a screw.

Might get the 10mm flex one tonight then, just need some copper grease now, pliers and maybe some underseal while im under the car.

[mrfil13]

Just to let you know i got it sorted, wish i had got one of the ratchet spanners though, slow going

Car now heats up properly, had to adjust the idle screw as it looks like the previous person had screwed it in to lower the revs due to it running cold.

[Kooga]

Rachet spanners are great, but you'd need a really expensive one to do this job or you wouldn't have the clearance. If I recall, there's barely enough room for a standard ring spanner...

[mrfil13]

No there isn't, not sure how much more space i had. I did start then after 5 mins went upstairs to look at the halfords ratchet spanner, as you say there isnt much room so rather than spending 40 mins getting there and back to find it doesnt fit i thought i should just crack on

Removing the battery and plate the battery rests on made it so much easier. Longest part apart from draining the system was getting the damn engine under tray off. I can tell you that sod is not going back on again, dont fancy getting that off every 6 months for an oil change.

[Kooga]

When I took mine off the first time, it was a pain, but after I'd drilled out all the sheared bolts, retapped the threads and replaced the bolts with shiny new stainless ones covered in copper grease, it was never a problem after that! Worth considering, the plastic covers do a very competent job of keeping the muck out the good bits. They also direct the airflow towards the engine, i seem to remember someone saying.

[mrfil13]

Had no issue bolt wise getting it off, was more of having climb under the car, alsol having to turn a quick job of changing the oil into a chore.