Thermostat Replacement & Coolant Levels

[Fischer]

As my 95 XLT is running cold I am planing on replacing my t-stat. I( have never done this before and I am wondering how to go about this.

Do I need to remove any coolant before I take off the Radiator hose?

Whatever help I can get is appreciated...:


Cheers

 

[Robert]

If you don't remove some coolant first it will come out once you remove the thermostat cover. It is less messy to put a pan under the radiator drain plug and drain off a couple of quarts first. That way you don't wind up with coolant all over your work area. Remember to put the coolant back in when you are done (or new coolant).

 

[dinograd]

Having just done this in my '94, it's fairly fresh in my mind. I would drain the coolant from the radiator and flush the whole system while you're at it. After flushing, drain the system again. Remove the air ducting that runs from the air filter to the intake. Remove the serpantine drive belt. This requires crawling under the truck, using a wrench (13mm if I remember correctly) to move the tensioner pulley, and slide off the belt. There is a pulley, almost directly in front of the thermostat housing, that if you can take it off will make this job much easier. Now you can get to the 3-10mm bolts that hold the thermostat housing. Remove the bolts and there is the thermostat. The thermostat uses an o-ring instead of a gasket so you won't need any RTV when you put it back in. Make sure you reinstall the thermostat in the right direction. Put everything back in reverse order. Hope this helps.

 

[RTStork]

Dead Link Removed Excellent writeup! You beat me to it.