Mission Impossible: Thermostat change on a 98 Sentra GA16DE

[Codifus]

So I changed my anti-freeze and was going to do the thermostat. I looked
over the obvious locations and couldn't find it. I consulted the service
manual and the diagram shows me that the thermostat housing is mounted
right next to the water pump . . .behind the engine. Holy cow what a
fantastic nightmare to try to reach it! Three bolts hold it in place,
the 3rd one you can't even see and have to reach up to from under the
car, going past the oil filter.

Does anyone know of an easy way to get at it? I may just simply leave it
and wait for when the water pump fails.

Thanks

CD

[Timmy Jones]

If it ain't broken...

"Codifus" <cod...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:hPo_i.1950$xt4...@newsfe10.lga...

[frederick]

No easy way I know of - I agree that it's in a terrible
place for access. A mirror helps. Also the coolant hose
clamps in that area are a near impossibility.
Don't forget the two bleed screws when refilling the system,
one on the intake manifold - above right of the water pump,
the other one on the head under/behind the distributor is
easy to miss. Both marked with "don't remove when engine
hot" stickers. The drain plug for the block is behind the
catalytic converter.

[NissTech]

Agreed,

Technicians rule #1

1. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

rule #2

2. Customers don't break/fuc* up their cars, The Technician does.

"Timmy Jones" <tjo...@eastlink.ca> wrote in message
news:T3p_i.42431$XF6.39030@edtnps90...

[Codifus]

Thanks for the tip. I'm leaving it for when the pump fails. rusted out
bolts added to the difficulty of getting at parts. Damned Northest weather.

And for those who thought I was replacing it just for the hell of it,
the thermostat was displaying classic worn out behavior: car gets warm,
get on the highway, car gets cold. After 170K miles, my thermostat may
not be broke, but it sure is tired, and I wnted to keep my car warm
during the coming winter months.

CD

[Jim Yanik]

Codifus <cod...@optonline.net> wrote in
news:WgJ_i.6$yO...@newsfe10.lga:

>
> And for those who thought I was replacing it just for the hell of it,
> the thermostat was displaying classic worn out behavior: car gets
> warm, get on the highway, car gets cold. After 170K miles, my
> thermostat may not be broke,

Yes,it is broke;the temp would not be fluctuating if it wasn't broke.

> but it sure is tired, and I wnted to keep
> my car warm during the coming winter months.
>
> CD
>

you can't find a shop to change it for you?
They have lifts and can get at it from underneath easier,and are usually
heated shops,up north.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

[frederick]

I think that might be a good idea.
From my experience, it doesn't seem to take much of an
engine overheat for these alloy heads to crack. YMMV.

[codifus]

On Nov 15, 3:34 pm, frederick <l...@sea.com> wrote:
> Jim Yanik wrote:
> > Codifus <codi...@optonline.net> wrote in

But my car is underheating, not overheating. If it was too hot, I'd
have it in the shop in a second. It's been said that these
thermostats, when they fail, fail open. Apparently that's what's going
on here.

CD

[frederick]

Probably right... but...
I just went outside to take a look.
Lever the wiring loom clip off the housing to give yourself
more room if you need it. Leave the inlet hose clamp on.
The bottom bolt isn't that hard to get at from above - it's
just that you can't see it, but you can feel it, and can get
to it with a 3/8 drive 10mm socket on a short extension.
After you get the cover off, you should be able to turn it a
bit to loosen the hose clamp with a stubby screwdriver if
you can't get a socket on it. You only need to get the hose
off if you want t clean the cover up before putting it back on.
Page from manual here:
http://i4.tinypic.com/8bjom54.png