Ok, so here is my write-up to change the thermostat on the 2.5 engine. if anyone has anything to add or whatever, please do so. i tried to take as detailed pix as possible.

what you'll need:
- 10mm socket w/ wratchet and extension
- 1 gallon 50/50 coolant/water mix
- towel (to soak up coolant)
- new thermostat AND gasket
- bucket to catch coolant (one that will fit under the front of the car)
- pliers


ok, first thing you want to do is make sure that you get a new thermostat WITH a gasket. the total for me was about $15 from NAPA. other places could/should be cheaper.



so take a good look at your engine before starting. you should look to see if there are any leaks, tears, etc. around the thermostat housing and in the coolant lines. here is what mine looked like before i started:



==REMOVAL==

everything seemed normal, so i moved on. the next thing you wanna do is drain the radiator. i had to cut a bucket in half to get it to fit under the front of the car. make sure that whatever you put under there has more than one gallon capacity, or else it'll overflow.

to drain the radiator, locate the stopcock at the bottom of the radiator. this is a screw that has two flat sides....kind of like a wingnut. i tried to get picture from up top, but it's not great. please see the other picture for proper placement under the car.




when you're done, you'll end up with quite a bit of fluid:



so now that you have all the fluid out of the radiator, unscrew the lid from the resevoir on the right hand side of the engine bay. dump that fluid into the bucket. here is what the resevior looks like:



mine was a bit dirty as you can see, so i flushed it out numerous times to try to get as much 'gook' out of it as possible.

next, you'll want to jam a towel under the hose, between the block and fans. this will catch most of the coolant that falls out of the housing and hoses. proceed to take your pliers and remove the coolant hose by compressing the clamps on both sides of the hose.



some coolant will spill out....have no worries....your towel is there for you. i found it easiest to remove the whole thing instead of just one end....gives you more room to work with.

next, take your 10mm socket and remove the bolts from black cover above the housing. again, take that all the way off.



i then had to push it under the housing (carefully!) to keep it out of the way to get to the housing screws.

next comes the housing screws. use the socket and extension if needed to remove these two screws.



make sure you place all screws in a secure place so as not to drop them into the engine bay or lose them.

next remove the left part of the housing. it may take a bit of tugging, but you'll get it. when it comes off you should see the bottom part of the thermostat.



i took a rag and soaked up and wiped off the inside of the housing and the hose as much as i could. no reason to leave any unwanted particles in there.

now getting the old thermostat out is kind of tricky. basically you just have to pull on til it comes out. i twisted it a few times to break the old gasket loose a bit, and finally got it out. if you'll notice...the old and new thermos look quite a bit different. i'm assuming that's because i did not get mine from a honda/acura dealer. but it is OEM, and has worked just fine. make sure you put the gasket on the new thermo before installing it.



==INSTALLATION==

to install the new thermostat, make sure the plunger is facing to the right. you'll want to put the top part into the left part of the housing. don't get this backwards....it's important

push the two sides of the housing together and insert the housing screws. i didn't find a specific torque at which to put these in....but tight is tight. just don't go overboard. once you have the screws in, there should be no gap in the housing, just as before.



now reinstall the black piece that goes above the housing. be careful when pulling it out from under the housing; try not to pinch anything. go slowly and it'll come out easy.

next reinstall the hose and place the clamps in their original positions.

now i filled the resevoir before i put it back in so i could make sure it was right on the line. you wanna use the 50/50 mix and fill it up to the MAX line. then reinsert it back into its place on the right side of the radiator. screw the top back on.

now it's time to refill the radiator. make sure you have RETIGHTENED the stopcock, so you don't leak any fluid. then use a funnel to fill the radiator. if you started with a gallon jug to fill the resevoir, you'll end up putting most of the rest in the radiator.



ok, after you've filled it up (will take a few minutes while you let it drain and what not), make sure the cap it put back on tight. make sure you take the towel out of the engine...that could be bad to leave it in.

now check for any leaks. if you see none, start the car. let it run until it reaches 'normal' temperature (not quite to the middle of the temp gauge). continue to check for leaks while it's running, especially around the housing.



if you see ANY leaks, turn the car off immediately. you'll have to start over most likely. you may have a bad gasket, didn't get it on correctly, etc.

but once it's running at normal temp, and you see no leaks, take it out for a test drive. i didn't run mine too hard, but did run it with and without a/c just to put a load on the engine. after you test drive, park it, let it run and check for leaks one more time. if after that you see none, you should be good to go.

congrats on the new thermo.

sorry for such a long write-up, but i like mine as detailed as possible. hope this helps y'all!

 

am i the only one that gets red xs on these pics?

 

They dont work now

I recommend www.imageshack.us

 

it is due to my internet going kaputz. i'll put them on imageshack asap.

 

Effing awesome man, thank you.

I actually think I need to do this, or at least change the coolant (even though it was done recently). My temperature gauge seems to move around quite a bit, from just about straight across to a bit lower than that. I think I will just do both and see how it goes.

 

Thanks a lot man!!!
And thank you for making it as detailed as possible so that amateurs like me can understand what you're talking about

 

glad to help. feels good to contribute back some after having gotten tons of help from everyone else here.

 

Ok, now somebody do the 3.2 Version!

Thanks OP!

 

ok, forgot to mention very important step.

after you are all done, before you start your car and run it to normal temp....be sure to crack open the bleeder on the thermostat housing. very important. do this before you turn on the car. make sure you have a towel to soak up the coolant. make sure your resevoir is filled to 'max', since you'll lose some in the process. this will prevent much of the possible air that could get into your system and cause your gauge to go all wacky, as per what i went through. please don't forget to do this.....it'll save time, money, and headache. thanks!

ps - thought this was gonna be a sticky?

 

actually, its very useful without pics, but pics make it a million times easier!!

 

bah. cox has blocked my port to host my site. jerks. i'll have to get em on free hosting again.....boooooo.

 

ill host you, pm me with more info.

 

can we get the pics on this again?

 

When replacing the thermostat did you have to use any gasket cement for the gasket to seal properly?

 

i know this old, but can you get the pics up again?

 

Why do you have to drain the radiator? the thermostat is at the top? I have replaced several of these on several engines and never had to drain the radiator when the thermo was at the top.

either way could this be the reason that my temp gauage stays way at the bottom?

 

yes, can you please re-up the pics? my thermo just died.

 

^ ^when replacing a new thermo, you should alway put fresh fuild in the radiator. remember these are acura not american cars. make sure there 50/50 not pure

 

DJBlast. were you answering yes to my question? (is this why my temp guage stays way at the bottom)

 

can anyone re-up the pics? thanks

 

Just a quick question... Is this a viable and "proper" remedy for the fan going on frequently after turning off the engine, even if the engine temperature is fine?

Thanks!