Hey all,

I'm currently in the process of replacing the thermostat in my 2003 GC. I'm a bit confused by two things:

1. The Haynes manual says "on V6 engines, remove the material around the staked areas to remove the original equipment thermostat from the housing cover." There doesn't seem to be any "material" around the staked areas. The housing itself seems to be made of a hard material, so I can't push back those staked (notched) spots to get the new thermostat to fit in flush.



I managed to pop the old one out with a flathead screwdriver, but I think it only came out because it bent. How do I get the new one back in flush. Would it be easier just to buy a new housing?


2. The new gasket is different from the old one. See the attached picture:



The tab on the side is just for pulling away the material covering the sticky side, but the old gasket is a metal/rubber combo, whereas the new one doesn't have any metal at all. Is this normal?

 

I was able to figure it out. I ended up taking the housing out of the hose completely. I put it on a hard flat surface, and then put a flat screwdriver against the each notch and whacked it with a hammer a few times. Managed to flatten them all out.

I ended up finding out that the factory gasket can be re-used and didn't need to use that new one they gave me.

Thanks anyways guys! Hope this helps other people that might run into the same problem.

 

Sorry just check the post, I use a small flat file or a flat blade screwdriver works too.

 

I replace the housing because I'm lazy and they aren't that expensive.

 

Yeah.. I was actually at that point too.. but none of the local parts stores had any housings in stock and I had to get it done that afternoon.

 

Alright, so something still doesn't seem quite right yet.

Brand new thermostat, it seemed alright the night I installed it. Took it for a drive tonight and it took a good 45-50 minutes to get up to normal operating temperature. Seems WAY too long to me. Even with the cold temperatures we've been having here lately, it usually is fully warmed up in 15-20 minutes.

Any ideas?

 

"seemed" it pretty ambiguous. if the engine does not warm up properly in a given amount of time, it will actually set a code. I would use a scanner and read the temp the computer sees to verify the actual temp of the cooling system.

 

I don't have access to a scanner unfortunately. I'll do the key dance later and see if there are any stored codes.

And before anyone suggest I go to a local parts store to get it scanned for codes.. apparently that's a "US only" thing, because I called around to a bunch of parts stores/shops in my area and can't find anyone that does it for free. If anyone on here is in Calgary and knows of any places that do it, feel free to let me know!

 

code reader has NO advantage over the key dance!!! a scanner is always the BEST tool for the job. you could also use a pyrometer. I've used thermometers in the heater vents. I like to see 160+ from the heater.

 

That I can do. That, and the key dance.. will report back.