how to change thermostat?

[SweetWagon]

Hey all, the thermostat in my v6 series 1 VN is stuck open so as you would imagine it hardly ever gets off cold, Iam planning to fix myself and will be getting a new thermostat to put in soon and it would be great if you could post a guide/tutorial/tips of how to do this before i attempt it as I heard it is a difficult job as it is located around the back of the motor and the series 1 motor had a problem with the housing fusing to the block.
Cheers

[VTSSDUDE]

Yes I had fun replacing mine, to save a lot of trouble, remove your elbow and throttle body.
Just to cut the story short what I ended up doing, because my thermostat housing was stuck to the valley cover, I got a cold chisel out and busted it out.
I bought a new one from repco for $20.
Because we spent about two hours trying to get it out and it wouldn't budge.
Just be careful if you do have to bust yours out, don't destroy the lip that holds the thermostat in.

[Z()LTAN]

i replaced the on on my bros vp the other week.
step 1 - take the top radiator hose off
step 2 - undo the 2 thermostat housing bolts and take them out
step 3 - take housing off (if its stuck put some plyers on the hole in the end an open them up so its trying to force it open, then hit the end of the hosing with a hammer, the plyers absorb the crushing force and stop it from breaking)
step 4 - take thermostat out
Step 5 - replace with new be sure to put it the right way around (spring side down)
step 6 - if u get the ones from supercheap or somewhere like that u can get some stick on gaskets with them for like $2 they work great.

and thats it

[Doctor Bob]

Series 1 thermostat is at the back of the engine, not nice to get to
& dont even attempt it if you dont have a new housing handy as well, they are notorious for corrosion & break when getting it out of the block.

Rob

[greenfoam]

You alloy hose elbow thing might be half erroded away too, so might as well get a new one before you do the job, it's pretty easy to do, compared to pulling the whole manifold off anyway

[beefcream]

me and my dad had a crack at changin it.. ###n stupid spot.. curse series 1 lol
yea and its real tight we gave up in the end cause we didnt wanna crack somethin
removin the TB would be a good start. i couldnt be bothered. im lazy

[SweetWagon]

i replaced the on on my bros vp the other week.
step 1 - take the top radiator hose off
step 2 - undo the 2 thermostat housing bolts and take them out
step 3 - take housing off (if its stuck put some plyers on the hole in the end an open them up so its trying to force it open, then hit the end of the hosing with a hammer, the plyers absorb the crushing force and stop it from breaking)
step 4 - take thermostat out
Step 5 - replace with new be sure to put it the right way around (spring side down)
step 6 - if u get the ones from supercheap or somewhere like that u can get some stick on gaskets with them for like $2 they work great.

and thats it

The VN S1 motor and VP are completely different mate but thanks anyway.

Thanks everyone. Do you think i could pick up a new housing from a wrecker and how much? or would that just be in as bad condition as the one it has? already. Cheers

[psshhhht]

Hey everyone,
I know this is a really old thread, but I'm new to the Commodore scene and want to change the thermostat on my VP as it's running way too cold, so i'm assuming it's stuck.
I've got the new thermo and gasket to replace it.

Just wondering, do I have to drain the coolant first? I'm really hoping I won't have to, because I that much of a tight arse at the moment (sorry, but trying to save for other things and am on the doll at the moment )

I've changed the thermostat on a Dodge Intrepid before (when I was in USA last year) but we were replacing the radiator at the same time too so we'd already drained the coolant.

Thanks for any advice!
Cheers,
Jer

[LX_HATCH]

Naa shouldn't loose the coolant, maybe half a liter thats it.

[psshhhht]

thanks, yeah gave it a go, spilt a bit, but not too much... runs a bit warmer now, still cooler than i would've thought though

[chook69]

huh wtf.. mines at the frunt on the side where my battery is.. i kno its a v6, but what series would it be?

[psshhhht]

VN series 2 onwards mate, only series 1 had the stupid location