93foxgt

I'm trying to fix my thermostat, but the stupid a$$ wing and sleeve bleeding thing on the passenger side of my radiator is totally stripped, so I can't get the little bolt out! I pulled the sleeve off the banjo bolt trying to loosen it. What do I do to drain it? I have to drive somewhere in 3 hours!

Help please!

5.0 MPG

loosen the lower rad hose and take it off?

hellas85stang

yeah loosen lower hose

FiveLiterRiceEater

you dont need to drain all the coolant to replace a t-stat. just pull the upper hose, pull the water neck, and pull the t-stat out.

93foxgt

Yeah, I didn't want to drain all the coolant. I just wanted a little out and the bleeder died.

I just ended up taking the banjo out of the bottom and shoving it back in after a few seconds.

HOPEFULLY after that long *** ordeal my car will run normally now, although, I'll admit that I think something else is wrong.

Is a water pump a huge PITA to install? Maybe they installed a ****ty one when it was changed. It looks like an aluminum OEM replacement.

90GTRagtop

No, the water pump isn't difficult. I changed mine in less than an hour. Could take more or less time depending on how hard it is to clean off the old gasket. Regarding the radiator drain, you can replace the whole plug later on when you have more time. For the T-Stat, I almost always just pull the top hose, that way I don't lose more water than necessary.

93foxgt

Thanks ragtop.

Well, I just tested it on a 23 mile drive with 2 other people in it.

It's running a little cooler than it was, and taking more time to get hotter than it used to be, and it seems like it wants to cool down more, but the other stat was a 180 also and was working for a year before the overheating which has been lasting about a week now, maybe a little longer.

Do you guys think a reverse flush would help? How much do they usually cost and do they do it at jiffy lube?

Rag, that means that it would take me 4 hours. It took me 2 1/2 hours to replace the stupid thermostat. First I couldn't get the stupid bleeder to bleed, then I couldn't access the bolts, then I couldn't get the stupid hoses off, then I couldn't get the old gasket off... then I had a hard time getting the damn thing back on. Everything just seems to take me 3x longer than usual to complete ugh

5.0stanger

Just remember fixing your car isn't a race, so time doesn't matter. Just be glad you aren't really good at it cuz that would mean you have had to do it a few times before