I own 84 & 85 Vettes! Please don't ask which I prefer! They're 2 different cars, with their own quirks, and attributes! It's like asking me which son I like more! I want to change the thermostat on the 85, and was wondering if anyone had a hint or two on making the job easier! Like the front part of the injector system looks like it could be an issue, as it's right over the hose & coupling, and doesn't leave much room! Without looking at it real hard, looks like it might have to come off?

 

Moved to C4 Tech.

 

I snuck mine off of there and replaced the rear bolt with a short allen, and a chopped off allen wrench to make the job easier in the future.

 

Thanks! I'm not the biggest fans of engineers, and what they do sometimes makes no sense to me! Some should have a wrench guy right beside them to say "do you know how hard that's going to be, and this would be easier"!

 

I take off the throttle body, Then used allen head style bolts from the top. Measure distance and make sure bolt will fit in with clearance to spare. Someone
had a too big bolt in there causing grief until I figured it out. Also tighten up your intake bolts while the neck is off. I used allen head in the first 2.
Good Luck

 

Don't blame the engineer. Blame the person giving the engineer orders. The engineer doesn't have free hand to do anything. Corporate says "Build X, Y and Z and this way", they do it. It was easy to install at the factory so how hard it is later, well, that is YOUR problem. 100 wrench guys can say anything but I take orders from my boss since he writes my check and not those 100 guys so that is where it is.

Before I go there, I would boil some water and have a pot of cold water nearby. Dunk thermostat in cold then hot and watch what happens. Dump it in cold and see. Do it several times. This will test it. I have seen a few dud thermostats.

I would take the TB off, take the IAC off, take the IAC housing off and take the top plate off. Clean all passages and reinstall with fresh gaskets. Paper gaskets are like condoms. I don't reuse either. Spray brake cleaner into the passages. Work the throttle plates while cleaning till it comes out clean. Obviously wipe down the blades and body. DO NOT PUSH THE IAC PINTLE or you buy a new one. Spray the pintle and wipe it off gently. I can't remember exactly since it has been forever I have had a stock intake but you should have easy clearance to the thermostat. While you are at it, why not do the coolant bypass so you don't have to futz with it again? Now you can take the TB off easily without having a coolant spill?

PS. This all is for the 85 which is TPI. IDK about the crossfire.

 

hindsight's always 20-20. the reason it doesn't make sense to you is that you've never done it. (product) engineering - think it's easy? give it a try sometime. . .

 

Care to enlighten us as far as that goes? Does Product Engineering always take orders up high or does it have free hand to do as it pleases? If I became a PE, would I be able to design it the way I wanted or would my superiors tell me what constraints it needs to have? IOW, can I design the car the way I think it should be or would management tell me "This is the budget, these are the environmental concerns, this is the X, Y and Z you are going to have to work within.? If it is the former, blame the PE. If it is the latter, what we have is "The Elephant is a horse designed by a committee".

 

I think one team does one project and another team works on something else.. And service work after the fact is important, but probably not their primary concern.

It's easier for us because we only have to build one car.. and if adding a $10 dollar mod somewhere makes life easier for us, it is a no brainer. Do it! ALL THE BETTER!

But when you're doing a million cars, that adds up and probably gets the big nix because, omz.. That's a lot of money!

And they're right. It certainly is.

 

Actually, that is probably the reason for the death of my favorite corvette feature of all time, bar none.. The clam shell hood.

Unwieldy and complex.. Expensive to make, transport and repair.. I'm sure it got whacked because of all of these things.

: (

 

I think the more accurate thing is that they customer will lie through his/her teeth and say they would rather pay for it but in the end THEY WON'T.

 

I'd pay for some of it. The Clam Shell is really a key design feature of the C4 I absolutely love.

But you're right, who thinks about water neck access on a new car? Nobody..

Who thinks about it on a 35YO machine they just bought? Everybody.