Stuck Thermostat Housing ......

I am overheating and have been advised to change the thermostat on my 1100 Sprite engine. Drained the coolant (of course broke the draincock, had to use lower hose) and removed 3 bolts holding the thermostat housing in place. From my overly generic book -- I sho /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thirsty.gifuld just remove the house and swap out.

Wrong !! I've pryed -- hit -- wedged in attempt to split the housing from the bottom with no avail. No other bolts appear to be related. Soaking w/ PB Blaster (nut / rust loosener).

Am I missing something ? Could I've heated the thermo to "melt" the two peices together ??? Any and all help appreciated. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thirsty.gif

George, 9 times out of 10 it's the studs holding the housing. Double nut the thermostat housing studs and torque them completely out. Then you should be able to knock/wedge/lever it off. Soaking the studs before removing them will make it easier. When re-installing the housing use some S/S bolts in place of the studs and it will make future changes a whole lot easier.

Not melted together but more like glued by some sealant such as Permatex. That brown stuff can set up pretty hard. Soaking with a solvent may be the answer but not sure that PB Blaster will help (depends what has been used in there). Carb cleaner or Acetone are possible solvents but should be used carefully as they are also rough on skin, rubber, paint, etc.

Do you really know that you need to change the tstat? There are lots of other (more common) causes of overheating. You don't need x-ray vision to know if your tstat is opening -- you can feel the lower radiator hose suddenly go from warm to hot when coolant begins flowing thru the radiator.

Problem solved. Prev owner used a silicon type item to "solve a problem" ( & created more). Got apart w/ patience and a strudy paint scraper to wedge into a tighten spot than the screw driver would allow.

Crosion City -- needs replaced !!

Thanks !!

Geo