Replace thermostat without draining fluid?

[thecantaloupeman]

So I just finished my coolant flush and silly old me forgot to put the thermostat back in before filling it to the to with new coolant. Can I put a glove around the upper radiator hose to plug the fluid so I can replace the t-stat without draining the fluid below the housing? Thanks.


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[DBarre]

Just get a clean bucket and reuse the coolant you drain out. It probably won't even be a whole gallon!

 

[Vbb199]

I'm no genius, and I may be doing it wrong, no sarcasm intended, but I've changed a thermostat with it full of coolant....

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[RecklessWOT]

You'll lose a little coolant, but the whole thing isn't gonna empty out like if you took the lower radiator hose off or something

 

[omillan99]

Just undo the bolts to the housing with the hose still on and have it point vertically while you change it, should be a small mess but nothing more than a quart or two at most.

 

[78C10BigTen]

Buy a pair of hose pinch pliers and squeeze the hose in front of the housing before removal

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[80BrownK10]

Or undo it and fold it back. But if you have a set of pinch pliars like that you can do that or use two pieces of wood and regular vice grips to pinch it off.

Or like said just drain a half gallon or so into a clean bucket and pour it back in.

 

[Matt69olds]

Drain a little coolant, then swap the T-stat. When your ready to pour the coolant back in run it thru a paint or coffee filter to catch any crud that may have fallen into the catch pan.

 

[Chevyguy]

Drain a little coolant, then swap the T-stat. When your ready to pour the coolant back in run it thru a paint or coffee filter to catch any crud that may have fallen into the catch pan.

Cheese cloth works well also for filtering coolant. Use anti-sieze on your housing bolt threads.

Clayton

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[SquareRoot]

Liquid flows from high to low. Any fluid above the level of the t-stat housing will push out the fluid below it. If you hold the upper hose vertical with fluid in it, it will push up thru the block and out the manifold. Just drain enough fluid out the petcock to lower the level in the system to the stat housing and pour it back in when you're done.

 

[thecantaloupeman]

Liquid flows from high to low. Any fluid above the level of the t-stat housing will push out the fluid below it. If you hold the upper hose vertical with fluid in it, it will push up thru the block and out the manifold. Just drain enough fluid out the petcock to lower the level in the system to the stat housing and pour it back in when you're done.

Okay I replaced that thermostat and It leaks a bit. I misaligned the gasket, but I wanted to know is there a right and wrong direction to put the thermostat? One side was flat with darker blue stripes, and the other had a bevel and was just plain blue.


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[Chevyguy]

Okay I replaced that thermostat and It leaks a bit. I misaligned the gasket, but I wanted to know is there a right and wrong direction to put the thermostat? One side was flat with darker blue stripes, and the other had a bevel and was just plain blue.


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Are you talking about the gasket?.

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[Chevyguy]

Are you talking about the gasket?.

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The gasket shouldn't matter, both sides are the same.

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[thecantaloupeman]

Are you talking about the gasket?.

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Yes sorry I was talking about the gasket.


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[RecklessWOT]

The gasket doesn't matter which side is up because it's a basic shape, it's the same either way.

The important part is making sure the bolts are tight enough (but not too tight where you blow the gasket out), and you also want to make sure the surface where the gasket seals is clean before you put the new gasket on. If there's remnants of the old gasket left behind or just crusty crud that gets on/under the gasket it will not seal well. A gasket needs to be evenly pressed between two flat metal surfaces. If you have to go in there with a razor blade or paint scraper to get the old gasket off, that's what you gotta do (especially if the guy before you put silicone or something on there). You need to completely remove the old gasket.