Have my car on a businesstrip and I happen to have my new 160* stat with me. How much coolant will I lose and whats the downside to just taking out the current and putting in the new one without draining the radiator and then filling it back up?

 

Hello,

The T-Stat is mounted on the front right side of the engine, you will lose alot of coolant...if you do not drain the Rad.

Kevin

 

Its possible to do.. you wont lose much if you do it when the motor is cold. I did mine, I didnt even lose 1 gal... You may as well do a flush though since you will have it open.. Having a 160 Tstat wont do anything for you though since your fans will still come on at the sametime as with your stock. You will have to get a fan controller or use LS1 edit to modify your fan table





[Modified by king_pin, 6:04 PM 11/3/2003]

 

:iagree: You won't lose anything when you remove the hose, but when you remove the thermostat, watch out! If you can get up on ramps, it helps a bit. You won't lose much, and a quick hand will keep that to a minimum. Get a fan controller to change your off/on temps, or you'll only have the benefit when you are cruising down the highway - city stop and go temps will stay the same.

 

:iagree:

Except for the fan controller. Since it's a '98, it'd be better to get the PCM tuned to lean it out a little, change the fan on/off temps, etc, etc. since you have a few mods that will benefit from the tune. Got a tune for mine for $250 plus shipping; have core exchanges if you can't live without your car, but it may take longer since they have to get cores in before they can swap one out with you. I looked at the fan controllers and I think they were close to $180 and then an AFPR plus a MAFT to address the run-rich issue, and it turned out much cheaper (and cleaner since I don't have all sorts of boxes hanging around under the hood) to get the PCM reprogrammed. Of course, if you want to go all out, you could hook up with a tuner at a good dyno shop and squeeze every last ounce out of your baby for $450-$550 bucks :D

 

I change my state twice a year... I lose less than a pint in the exchange.,..I never drain the radiator
lift the car a bit and put a catch pan under the car
have the new stat ready to be installed... silicone grease on the "O" ring to keep it in place...and have it within hands reach of the water pump
Cold motor... release any pressure from the fill tank and recap...
slide the hose clamp up the hose... then tuck the hose under the heater hose to hold it high and dry..
with the stat cold and closed you wont lose any coolant... there are two 10 mm bolt holding the housing and stat.. remove the one farthest from you first.... you wont lose any coolant here either.. and dress it with anti sieze thread compound
Now here is the trick.. break the other bolt lose... and with one hand apply pressure towards the engine, and remove the bolt.. you may lose a few drops here..
use anti sieze compound on the bolts.. have some handy on a q tip.. now swap out the two stats.. in a smooth motion .. this should take less than ten second... apply pressure towards the engine again.. at this point you should have lost less than a pint in that ten second exchange...replace the two bolts.. make sure they are dressed with anti sieze... snug them up and torque... 89 inch lbs...make sure you use a torque wrench here... these aluminum motors do not like over torque..
Good Luck.. Ive done this ten times to my C5 .. it is cake....

replace the hose and the clamp..
starts the motor... check for leaks.. and add coolant..



[Modified by Evil-Twin, 6:35 PM 11/4/2003]