VE V6 Thermostat housing replacement

[chromic]

Has anyone changed one of these without removing the transmission? So far I have taken the upper inlet manifold off, pushed the hoses out of the way at the rear of the engine. I then removed the 13mm bolt located on the housing next to the driver side exhaust manifold. I'm confident I can remove the 3x 10mm bolts attached to the housing but there are 2 x alloy tubes attached also which I do not know the size.

Prior to this today I replaced the water pump and the radiator hose inlet gasket. I was lucky that the previous owner replaced the inlet manifold gaskets with metal ones. I was quoted $118 at Repo, $88 from Holden but they were $35 on eBay (genuine including postage!)

 

[markovr]

You have to take the heater stainless tubes to get to the 3 other securing bolts all have 10mm heads ... I did it to my vz which was a pain but it doesnt have anywhere near as much windscreen cowl overhang like the ve .Drama with me was that I had to get all the gasket material off the sealing face of the block without scratching it .New factory thermostat housing comes with new bolts that are captured by the metal gasket so the surface needs to be perfect...I used a plate from a light switch which wont damage the surface and is reasonably square has a sharp edge and fits in your hand ....all has to be seen by a mirror to confirm since you cant directly see it ...also I used a small torque wrench to make sure i got even pressure on each bolt. Still after all that I wouldnt have been surprised if it leaked but it didnt.

 

[S.D.M.F]

Let me know if you want the installation procedure which also has all the bolt torque values.

 

[chromic]

Thanks for the tips Markovr . I forgot that I will have to scrape the residue off the surface of the block when the housing comes off, more confined space fun haha. I have the same genuine part and seals as the ones in the photo. Did you use any rtv sealant with yours?

S.D.M.F; Cheers for posting up those instructions, much appreciated. Could you post up the torque values and installation procedure? It might come in handy for anyone else who might want to give it a go.

 

[Hrd455]

All i have to say is good luck, did this on my vz v6 took me 7 hours, dont forget to buy the 3 rubber o-rings from holden

 

[markovr]

Thanks for the tips Markovr . I forgot that I will have to scrape the residue off the surface of the block when the housing comes off, more confined space fun haha. I have the same genuine part and seals as the ones in the photo. Did you use any rtv sealant with you

No sealant used and the gasket sure stains the alloy so I did the best I could with the plastic scraper .
10 nm is the tension on the bolts....pretty common tension to the alloy bits on the engine

 

[chromic]

Thanks for that. Where abouts does the orange o ring go? I have taken the old housing off and cannot find the old orange o ring. I replaced the 2 black o rings as per the diagram S.D.M.F put up.

 

[markovr]

the big stainless pipe that runs under the exhaust under the alternator from the front ...it should be on the pipe when you pull it out of the thermostat housing in its groove...I think it wasnt the same colour as original.

 

[markovr]

the big stainless pipe that runs under the exhaust under the alternator from the front ...it should be on the pipe when you pull it out of the thermostat housing in its groove or it might have stayed inside the thermostat housing...I think it wasnt the same colour as original.


also front inlet 0 rings permaseal equivalent if you happen to do the front radiator cap housing....and for 15 dollars its worth doing since it fails too and you have everything apart anyway

 

[S.D.M.F]

Ok, here's the install procedure with torque values as requested.......

Hope this can help someone.