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The Frustrated Shade tree mechanic

I've never labeled myself a mechanic so perhaps the title is a bit misleading.

In January, I posted about the OBD2 problems with my van and the past few weeks I've been struggling with a thermostat replacement.

At some point, I came to the conclusion that I needed to change the thermostat on my van since it's been running cool for several months. I reasoned that the drive cycle could not activate if the coolant temperature was not getting into the expected operating range.

This should not have been a big deal, I've changed a thermostat before in the 200. For some reason, I could not get it to stop leaking when I put it back together.

After 5 reinstall and start tries, changing the position of the gasket and using sealants and gasket makers, I found that I had cracked the thermostat housing likely during my first reinstall attempt. Not a huge deal, I found a used housing on ebay and it had all the attached hoses on it for $65 including free shipping.

After a few days, the part was shipped to me and I pulled the old housing out. I figured the used thermostat had the original thermostat so I would need to swap in my new one and everything was going well until the last bolt broke off removing the housing cover. Crap.

The bolt would not budge with PB Blaster soaking or welding a nut and now I've melted a part of the housing body. Double Crap!

Back to square one. JB Weld the cracked thermostat housing and try to reinstall.

The purchase was not a total loss. I used one of the hoses and was able to confirm the proper placement of the gasket but this van is really pissing me off.

I'm not able to work on my Honda with the van in the garage.

Comments

  1. Deep thinkerJuly 15, 2012 at 8:27 AM

    Update: I never did fix that stupid van. It was good to us for 10 years needing little maintenance. After throwing in the towel on getting the OBDII readiness codes to clear on the cat and O2 sensors, I searched for a way to get rid of the car.

    Submitted a requeste to Autotrader.com's buying service I made a deal to sell a local dealer the Van just as another Coil was starting to fail and the thermostat housing was beginning to leak again.

    We ended up purchasing a 2012 Kia Sportage LX for the family car. Excellent MPG, Great rear seat room and acceptable cargo capacity.

    ReplyDelete

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