When your temperature gauge reads cold all the time and your heater isn't really heating anything.......It's most likely your thermostat. It isn't impossible, by any stretch of imagination, to get to it to replace.....but it can pose a challenge and take some of your time.
1. First of all it helps to take out your intake (this includes the top of your air filter box, your air filter and intake hose going to the throttle body and the plug on your MAF sensor...and if you know you will get anti-freeze everywhere it may be helpful to take out the bottom section of your air filter box...so you dont have to clean it later on. Although it may just be a good idea at the time being, it always helps to keep that box clean) It will be easier to get to the rest of the project without the bulky air box in there.
2. Drain the upper radiator hose somehow after you loosen the clamp on the thermostat housing at the end of the hose. Pull off the hose and you will have anti-freeze coming out of the end of the hose and the thermostat housing so you might want to put something under those. After the hose is drained for the most part, just kinda set it aside (or just push it out of the way)
3. There are two nuts you have to take off of the thermostat housing to free it, one on the top and one on the bottom...don't be really tough with them or you run the risk of cracking the thermostat housing. Also there is a tiny hose to the left of the top nut that you will have to loosen and pull out a little or the housing won't come off.
4. Remove the housing and that will give you access to the thermostat itself. Pull it out of the engine and replace it with the new thermostat and a new gasket. It may also be helpful to clean out the housing and the engine opening where the thermostat goes. (there was quite a bit of corrosion in mine that I cleaned out.)
5. Put the housing back on and hand tighten the nuts and then carefully tighten them with a ratchet...but once again keep in mind that the housing will crack under a little pressure. Just make sure the housing is secure...beyond that you dont need to do much.
6. Replace the parts you took off (intake, rad. hose, and anything else you took off) and then take off the radiator cap and run the engine while filling the pipe the cap came off of, up to the top and then cap that pipe. And you can probably fill the reservoir up to normal levels. Let it run, check for leaks and then when the car gets hot you will notice your temperature gauge working, and your heater should work significantly better.
I'm a decent mechanic i think, but this was definetely a first for me....so hopefully this helped a little if you needed it.
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