Suburban0102@juno.com

I figured this title would remind you all who I am. Lol. Anyway my car needs a thermostat and I just bought it. With the gasket. Is this something I can do on my own? Remember I really know nothing about this stuff but if it is simple and I was told how to do it then I guess I could.? I don't know, I am asking your opinions..... if I should try to do this or not....

oldcutlass

Place a large clean container under the drain petcock of the radiator. Remove the radiator cap and open the petcock. Drain the coolant until the level in the radiator is below the level of the location of thermostat in the manifold and close the petcock. Remove the upper radiator hose from the thermostat housing and loosen the clamp for the smaller bypass hose. Remove the bolts holding the thermostat housing and gently pry the housing up and off. Before you remove the thermostat, take a picture of how it is placed in the hole so when you go back with the new one and say "hmmmm, which way does this go" you can reference the picture. Clean all the old gasket off the manifold and the thermostat housing. Put some thread sealer on the end of the bolts and reinstall everything in reverse order. Refill the radiator and look for leaks.

Start the engine with the cap off and when the engine is at operating temp the thermostat will open and the water level will drop a small amount. Top of the level, install the cap, wait for the system to pressurize and check again for leaks. If no leaks your done. Double check level periodically as a maintenance ritual.

Suburban0102@juno.com

Ty for the info