newbecorvetteguy

It's a stupid question, but I like things to go smooth so I'll ask anyway. I have an '87 that I want to change the thermostat out. Can it be replaced without removing the intake stuff and hose that it's half buried under? If it can be done fast and dirty I'll do it soon. If it's an hours long project I'll wait till the weather is better. Thanks

redbullapril23

well on my auto 1996 lt1 you just remove the intake ducting with the MAF. and its right there on top of the water pump... you remove the 2 bolts that hold the top part it... but you need to drain coolant so the level is below the thermosat so when you remove it coolant doesnt shoot everywhere!
good luck
hopefully some one will chime in.
your friend
Sean

redbullapril23

also make sure you have lots of paper towels ready incase coolant gets ne where..... but since you dant have reverse flow coolant itll be diff.

65Z01

You will need to remove the EGR Solenoid & bracket from the T-stat housing rear bolt. I'm thinking you also need to remove the TB in order to get a socket onto the rear bolt, unless you have an offset box.

Here, carefully push the connector with the plastic tubing from the rear of the Solenoid.

Indeed drain about 1/2-1 gal of coolant and you should be ok on the spillage issue.

Use some Permatex #2 on the two bolts.

If you haven't already done the TB coolant bypass this is a good time to do it.

Photomania

On my 1990, a ratcheting wrench would have been most helpful. It took me 30 minutes just to turn the two thermostat housing bolts enough to remove them because I had only a plain open end wrench.

Also, I accidently broke the vacuum T-fitting hose, which was brittle, because it is attached to the bolt on the thermostat housing. But I replaced the thermostat and my car is running at a better temperature now. -- Eric

vader86

Just be careful not to break or strip the bolts holding the housing in, they tend to break easily if they havent been replaced before.

newbecorvetteguy

Thanks for the replies. I better just wait for a few months, or a nice weekend at least, when it's warmer. Not much fun doing elective repairs in the cold and rain. Thought I'd give it a shot now if I could remove the stat housing using a swivel socket and a crows foot without removing a lot of other stuff. Sounds like that's not the case though.

TA

I've done it without removing the TB, but in hindsight it would have been much easier to take it off.

GeosFun

I did a complete change on my '88 in about an hour, and that was taking my time. It could probably be done in 30-minutes, but I was careful because I had not done it before so I checked everything 2-3 times before I took something loose. Should be nearly identical to your '87. Just remove the easy stuff that is in the way (air inlet duct to the throttle body, etc). My main issue is one of the rubber tubes was brittle and cracked when I pulled it loose, but there was enough left I could trim off the broken part and still connect it back up. Be sure to let the radiator level below the thermostat or else have something ready to stop off the radiator hose. Some will spill out anyway, but it is no big deal. Have some paper towels handy. Be sure you have the right tools to get at the bolts and screws. One of the bolts is a bit hard to reach, but I had a wiggle socket and an end wrench that worked fine. This might sound silly, but be sure which end is "up" when the new one goes in. No point in doing it twice.

HeeHaw89

Times like these make me miss the days when I had my 70 SS 396 Chevelle. I could change the thermostat blinfolded in about 2 minutes.

rstackjd

Ain't that the truth

I did mine in my '88 a month or so ago - first time, and it took about an hour as well - not really hard, just sort of a pain. Did draw my first "corvette blood" though.

:see ya