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[Webby the Bear]

Hi all,

Finally got this b*stard out today. Getting to it is a piece of piss, getting it out is a different story.... it took some proper levering, twisting and cuts/scratches to get it out. somebody has put some sort of sealant where the housing meets the pipe... i'm presuming you shouldn't do/need this?

I'll upload pics in a mo but was very very pleased as that's another job to cross off the list

I've been reading up on how the thermostat works..... in short it's closed during start/warm up so no coolant is flowing through the engine and then opens when it's up to temperature allowing coolant to regulate the car temp. And the way that it does it is very simple but genius... apparently it has a ''wax'' that melts at temperature and expands and pushes out a small rod that then opens the valve. how cool!!! no pun

now one thing i dont get is this: i've heard peole complain of overheating because they suspect their thermostat is stuck open...... but if its always open then that means coolant's allowed through therefore how is it possible to overheat? hmmm.

[Webby the Bear]

oh and when you buy a new stat does it come with the housing or is the housing to be reused and the stat pops out? 

[Andy B]

....
now one thing i dont get is this: i've heard peole complain of overheating because they suspect their thermostat is stuck open...... but if its always open then that means coolant's allowed through therefore how is it possible to overheat? hmmm.

because your thermostat regulates the amount of water going through the main radiator to maintain a temperature. If the stat is always fully open then you're always getting max cooling .......... even when the engine is cold. 

[Andy B]

oh and when you buy a new stat does it come with the housing or is the housing to be reused and the stat pops out? 

I believe a 4 pot stat comes on its own, but a V6's comes complete with the housing, but you can fit a 4 pot stat into the V6's ally housing. I'd to destroy my stat housing to get the two bit out of the car, so was gald of the new complete assembly when I changed mine.

[Webby the Bear]

cheers andy.... i can see why tht would be a problem but how could it cause an overheat? i'm just thinking if something's cold and you put cold liquid on it it will stay cold lol

sorry if i'm being thick

[Andy B]

cheers andy.... i can see why tht would be a problem but how could it cause an overheat? i'm just thinking if something's cold and you put cold liquid on it it will stay cold lol

sorry if i'm being thick

A stat stuck open will cause over cooling ie your engine will struggle to ever get up to temp

A stat stuck shut will cause over heating because you get a reduced flow through the radiator. 

(I didn't read your question properly so didn't answer it correctly in the first place  )

[Webby the Bear]

cheers andy.... i can see why tht would be a problem but how could it cause an overheat? i'm just thinking if something's cold and you put cold liquid on it it will stay cold lol

sorry if i'm being thick

A stat stuck open will cause over cooling ie your engine will struggle to ever get up to temp

A stat stuck shut will cause over heating because you get a reduced flow through the radiator. 

(I didn't read your question properly so didn't answer it correctly in the first place  )

lol no worries. that makes sense thanks andy.

what a bugger of a job though. i really wouldnt want to do that on a decent car... i did it on the practise car. but hey the theory is that if i get practise on this v6 then any other car will be a piece of piddle 

i've decided that ralf has to go. so getting the stat out was just a ''quick'' job before i rip the heads out. i made the decision cos i'm ashamed to say i've broken a few things on my strip down  i broke the abs sensor when i was getting the strut out  then i sheared a cam cover gasket in half  note to self... be less bloody ham fisted in future 

[2woody]

you weren't quite right - with the stat shut, coolant still circulates through the engine, it just doesn't make it as far as the radiator.

There are two return paths for the coolant - one through the expansion tank and one through the heater so you still get warm toes.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Pretty sure the stat on my MV6 is stuck open. Temperature gauge barely leaves the stop when driving in the winter. In the summer she'll eventually crawl up to about 70c. However, leave the old girl ticking over on the drive and she'll finally reach normal working temperature......then the fans cut in.


If the stat was more accessible and as  easy to change as Mrs Opti's Corsa (10 minute job)......I'd have sorted it by now........but the bastard lies deep between the creamy bosoms of the V6.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Go on Opti!! 'Ave a go!!    You might enjoy sticking your nose in the V6's cleavage!!! 

[omega3000]

Hi all,

Finally got this b*stard out today. Getting to it is a piece of piss, getting it out is a different story.... it took some proper levering, twisting and cuts/scratches to get it out. somebody has put some sort of sealant where the housing meets the pipe... i'm presuming you shouldn't do/need this?

I'll upload pics in a mo but was very very pleased as that's another job to cross off the list

I've been reading up on how the thermostat works..... in short it's closed during start/warm up so no coolant is flowing through the engine and then opens when it's up to temperature allowing coolant to regulate the car temp. And the way that it does it is very simple but genius... apparently it has a ''wax'' that melts at temperature and expands and pushes out a small rod that then opens the valve. how cool!!! no pun

now one thing i dont get is this: i've heard peole complain of overheating because they suspect their thermostat is stuck open...... but if its always open then that means coolant's allowed through therefore how is it possible to overheat? hmmm.

Now to re-assemble and get the new stat in + getting the b@stad bolt in with 5 pairs of hands when no hands will fit 

[I_want_an_Omega]

Pretty sure the stat on my MV6 is stuck open. Temperature gauge barely leaves the stop when driving in the winter. In the summer she'll eventually crawl up to about 70c. However, leave the old girl ticking over on the drive and she'll finally reach normal working temperature......then the fans cut in.


If the stat was more accessible and as  easy to change as Mrs Opti's Corsa (10 minute job)......I'd have sorted it by now........but the bastard lies deep between the creamy bosoms of the V6.

I noted the warning about "fragile" coolant transfer pipes and got a replacement with my new stat. Good job I did as we couldn't get the stat housing to separate from the transfer pipe - which you have to do to remove it! In the end we sacrificed the transfer pipe by knocking a hole in it (it's a casting so will fracture easily) and then knocked it out using the side of the new hole for purchase. It didn't feel right using a hammer in this area I can tell you.

Just to cap it all off, the top hose - which connects to the other end of the transfer pipe had melted itself onto the pipe and had to be cut off  . Dealer had to order one in so that added another couple of days to the job. 

[amba]

Think after a stat has been there for several years the transfer pipe and stat body do become "1".

I also ended up taking a large screw driver and hammer to mine..managed to break the pipe and then gentle chip it apart so the end with the lug could be pulled out and the stat body and remains of the coolant pipe out the other..

Seems brutal but you wouldn,t really be able to save the transfer pipe and for £10/£15 it hardly seem worth the severe greif it would have caused otherwise.

[Webby the Bear]

all interesting thoughts. I have to say the job was really easy until i got to tryin to get the housing free from the pipe. Mine made worse cos someone had used sealant. I presume your not meant to?

[martin42]

no sealant ment to be used,hence why there is 2 o rings on the transfer pipe,EMD's was also the same,its a short cut as they cant be arsed to get the 2 o rings ,that infact cost less than the sealant