Changing thermostat with Procharger
05-03-2014, 03:22 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Changing thermostat with Procharger
Hey everyone. Has anyone managed to replace the thermostat on a procharged 350z without having to remove anything from the procharger set up? Local shop said they couldn't do it unless the bracket is out of the way. If anyone has managed to do it please let me know! Thanks 
05-05-2014, 12:20 AM
#3
Registered User
Thread Starter
What parts are you referring to exactly? I'm able to see two of the bolts on the thermostat housing but haven't had a chance to look for the third one, the one pointing to the passenger side.
05-05-2014, 08:19 PM
#4
350Z-holic
iTrader: (13)
Highly doubt you can remove the thermostat even if you get to the third bolt out I'm not sure if you can get the thermostat out...
05-05-2014, 10:34 PM
#5
Registered User
Thread Starter
*sigh* Things like this are the reason why I question my decisions... Thanks for the picture. I'm gonna give it a shot tomorrow anyways. I'll update if I'm able to do it. It looks like the main issue I would have would be if the bolt was too long to clear the bracket, but I don't have a clue as to how long the bolt is. Clearly i can't pull the thermostat straight out, but maybe if I just pull it out at a tilted angle then it may work. But again, the mystery of the bolt length is the issue here.
05-06-2014, 04:55 PM
#6
Registered User
Thread Starter
So I took a pretty extensive look at it today. The engine bracket is not in the way of the passenger side bolt and the main bracket is kind of in front of the bolt, but there's plenty of space to remove the bolt itself. Basically, I'm very sure I'll be able to do this. What I'm going to do is remove the radiator fan and main cog belt, however, since it's a pretty tight fit along with use a 3/8 ratchet to reduce space taken up and because it's probably the only size that will fit. I'll update as soon as I change it out; I'm just waiting on the gasket to arrive in the mail. Wish me luck!
05-17-2014, 12:23 AM
#7
Registered User
Thread Starter
Replacing was a success
So I finally got a chance to work on it today! To conclude: I successfully changed it out without having to remove the bracket!!!! Luckily, I was able to change the thermostat with quite a bit of struggle to be honest, refill the coolant based on the service manual's procedure, and thankfully my car is no longer overheating so problem solved!
But there is space between the main bracket and the thermostat. It really does depend on the tools you have though! I had to use a variety of different attachments and extensions for my socket wrenches to get the right length for removing the thermostat bolts. For the hose clamps, I used combination pliers for the easy-to-access hoses and round-nose pliers for the hoses plugged into the thermostat, since it's a pretty tight space.
I should have taken pictures, but here's the procedure of what I did.
*MAKE SURE YOUR CAR IS COOLED DOWN WHEN CHANGING THE THERMOSTAT OUT TO AVOID BURNS***
1. Lift the car on both sides (it's gonna need to be lifted pretty high up. I used a two ton jack for each side. If you have jack stands, then use them)
2. Remove the engine's splash shield from under the car.
3. Get a pan ready since you're going to need to drain the radiator. Unbolt the radiator drain screw. I recommend you not reuse the coolant, since it might become contaminated while it's out of the car. Your choice though, I chose to buy coolant.
4. Remove the coolant reserve tank
5. Remove the bracket the coolant reserve tank slides into (I had to do this from under the car, since there's more space that way. The reason why the bracket needs to be removed is in order to remove the radiator fan, since the bracket gets in the way of it)
6. Remove the procharger main cog belt. ***NOTE*** IF YOU AREN'T TOO SURE HOW TO TENSION IT CORRECTLY, CONSIDER COUNTING THE NUMBER OF REVOLUTIONS YOU MADE TO REMOVE THE BOLT , SO WHEN YOU'RE PUTTING THE BELT BACK ON YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY TIMES TO TURN IT FOR TIGHTENING.
7. Unbolt and remove the tensioner pulley (the middle pulley).
8. Unplug the upper and lower radiator hoses. Upper is above on the passenger's side (be careful coolant is probably going to pour out, coming from the engine end of the hose) Lower is at the bottom on the driver's side.
*** I know that there are two cylinder block drain plugs you can also remove, but to be honest I didn't try finding them and was feeling pretty lazy. I personally don't mind having coolant spill on the engine. I just carefully hosed it down after anyways and let it dry. If you do hose the engine down, just make sure you keep the water away from the spark plugs and kind of just do strokes from left to right.
9. Unplug the radiator fan cables. There's two, one for each fan.
10. Unbolt the radiator fan. Two bolts on top. It's bolted into the radiator itself.
11. The radiator fan has two forks that sit into these brackets on the radiator at the bottom. Lift the radiator fan out of the the brackets and slide the radiator fan out from below the car. (which is why the car has to be lifted up high)
- Now that the radiator fan is out of the way, there's plenty of space to remove the thermostat! WOOH, HELL YEA.
12. Unplug the oil cooler hose from the thermostat.
13. Now you just have to manage to unbolt the three bolts on the thermostat. COOLANT'S GONNA SPILL OUT BE READY. Hopefully you have the right attachments and extensions. I don't have my tools with me so I can't say what I used exactly.
- I recall for the bolt on the passenger side end of the thermostat housing I had to use a combination of extensions to put the socket wrench between the engine and the bracket.
- The bottom bolt needed a combination to put the socket wrench between the radiator and the bracket.
- The driver side bolt wasn't too bad. I think I just used the same combination for the bottom bolt
14. Now that the three bolts are out, go ahead and pull the thermostat out. get a pan ready, since coolant's going to pour out.
- I would recommend testing the thermostat just in case. Why, you may ask? Because it might not even be the thermostat, like in my case.
Boil some water, put the thermostat in it and see if it opens. I bought a thermostat and gasket when it didn't even need to be changed... well turns out when I was changing out my radiator for a mishimoto 2-row, I didn't exactly refill the coolant system correctly. So the upper hose was hot and the lower hose was cold not because of the thermostat, but because there was air in the system. Horrible mistake, but whatever my car is fine now and I officially know how to refill the damn system. Pain in the ***.
15. Replace thermostat with new one and new gasket. I honestly can't describe what I had to do to get this piece of **** in. All I can say is get creative, and good luck.
- It's really recommended that you use a new gasket. I wouldn't take a chance on potential air finding its way through an old one. I bought the Stant 25191 Thermostat Gasket from amazon. They should have gaskets available at autozone or some other auto parts store. Just call and find out.
16. I would recommend putting the oil cooler hose and the lower radiator hose into the thermostat before the radiator fan.
17. Now just reverse the procedure to put everything back together.
And there you have it! That's what I did to change the thermostat. A simple, one hour job turned into a seven hour job. Realize though that I had to figure out my way through it. I didn't have a guide or anything other than whatever knowledge I have of mechanics, so yall should be able to this in much less time.
Tips for filling coolant system
- I noticed that air came out of the air release valve better when the car was leveled, not elevated.
- I elevated the left side of the car so the air would move towards the radiator valve top. It helped a bit but I was just aiming to remove as much air as possible.
- I would squeeze the upper and lower radiator hoses to push air out.
http://crackaddict.com/~flynn/howtos...amco.howto.htm
The process Bleeding the System at the bottom of this link is pretty much what the service manual's process is. Other than that, you're done. Test drive it, watch the temp while changing the cabin fan from cold to hot, and once you're done and confident that you bled the system correctly, check that both upper and lower radiator hoses are warm just in case.
If there are any questions or if I might not have addressed something, let me know because I might have forgotten to mention a step. Anyways, thanks and hopefully this helps the procharged community.
But there is space between the main bracket and the thermostat. It really does depend on the tools you have though! I had to use a variety of different attachments and extensions for my socket wrenches to get the right length for removing the thermostat bolts. For the hose clamps, I used combination pliers for the easy-to-access hoses and round-nose pliers for the hoses plugged into the thermostat, since it's a pretty tight space.
I should have taken pictures, but here's the procedure of what I did.
*MAKE SURE YOUR CAR IS COOLED DOWN WHEN CHANGING THE THERMOSTAT OUT TO AVOID BURNS***
1. Lift the car on both sides (it's gonna need to be lifted pretty high up. I used a two ton jack for each side. If you have jack stands, then use them)
2. Remove the engine's splash shield from under the car.
3. Get a pan ready since you're going to need to drain the radiator. Unbolt the radiator drain screw. I recommend you not reuse the coolant, since it might become contaminated while it's out of the car. Your choice though, I chose to buy coolant.
4. Remove the coolant reserve tank
5. Remove the bracket the coolant reserve tank slides into (I had to do this from under the car, since there's more space that way. The reason why the bracket needs to be removed is in order to remove the radiator fan, since the bracket gets in the way of it)
6. Remove the procharger main cog belt. ***NOTE*** IF YOU AREN'T TOO SURE HOW TO TENSION IT CORRECTLY, CONSIDER COUNTING THE NUMBER OF REVOLUTIONS YOU MADE TO REMOVE THE BOLT , SO WHEN YOU'RE PUTTING THE BELT BACK ON YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY TIMES TO TURN IT FOR TIGHTENING.
7. Unbolt and remove the tensioner pulley (the middle pulley).
8. Unplug the upper and lower radiator hoses. Upper is above on the passenger's side (be careful coolant is probably going to pour out, coming from the engine end of the hose) Lower is at the bottom on the driver's side.
*** I know that there are two cylinder block drain plugs you can also remove, but to be honest I didn't try finding them and was feeling pretty lazy. I personally don't mind having coolant spill on the engine. I just carefully hosed it down after anyways and let it dry. If you do hose the engine down, just make sure you keep the water away from the spark plugs and kind of just do strokes from left to right.
9. Unplug the radiator fan cables. There's two, one for each fan.
10. Unbolt the radiator fan. Two bolts on top. It's bolted into the radiator itself.
11. The radiator fan has two forks that sit into these brackets on the radiator at the bottom. Lift the radiator fan out of the the brackets and slide the radiator fan out from below the car. (which is why the car has to be lifted up high)
- Now that the radiator fan is out of the way, there's plenty of space to remove the thermostat! WOOH, HELL YEA.
12. Unplug the oil cooler hose from the thermostat.
13. Now you just have to manage to unbolt the three bolts on the thermostat. COOLANT'S GONNA SPILL OUT BE READY. Hopefully you have the right attachments and extensions. I don't have my tools with me so I can't say what I used exactly.
- I recall for the bolt on the passenger side end of the thermostat housing I had to use a combination of extensions to put the socket wrench between the engine and the bracket.
- The bottom bolt needed a combination to put the socket wrench between the radiator and the bracket.
- The driver side bolt wasn't too bad. I think I just used the same combination for the bottom bolt
14. Now that the three bolts are out, go ahead and pull the thermostat out. get a pan ready, since coolant's going to pour out.
- I would recommend testing the thermostat just in case. Why, you may ask? Because it might not even be the thermostat, like in my case.
Boil some water, put the thermostat in it and see if it opens. I bought a thermostat and gasket when it didn't even need to be changed... well turns out when I was changing out my radiator for a mishimoto 2-row, I didn't exactly refill the coolant system correctly. So the upper hose was hot and the lower hose was cold not because of the thermostat, but because there was air in the system. Horrible mistake, but whatever my car is fine now and I officially know how to refill the damn system. Pain in the ***. 15. Replace thermostat with new one and new gasket. I honestly can't describe what I had to do to get this piece of **** in. All I can say is get creative, and good luck.
- It's really recommended that you use a new gasket. I wouldn't take a chance on potential air finding its way through an old one. I bought the Stant 25191 Thermostat Gasket from amazon. They should have gaskets available at autozone or some other auto parts store. Just call and find out.
16. I would recommend putting the oil cooler hose and the lower radiator hose into the thermostat before the radiator fan.
17. Now just reverse the procedure to put everything back together.
And there you have it! That's what I did to change the thermostat. A simple, one hour job turned into a seven hour job. Realize though that I had to figure out my way through it. I didn't have a guide or anything other than whatever knowledge I have of mechanics, so yall should be able to this in much less time.
Tips for filling coolant system
- I noticed that air came out of the air release valve better when the car was leveled, not elevated.
- I elevated the left side of the car so the air would move towards the radiator valve top. It helped a bit but I was just aiming to remove as much air as possible.
- I would squeeze the upper and lower radiator hoses to push air out.
http://crackaddict.com/~flynn/howtos...amco.howto.htm
The process Bleeding the System at the bottom of this link is pretty much what the service manual's process is. Other than that, you're done. Test drive it, watch the temp while changing the cabin fan from cold to hot, and once you're done and confident that you bled the system correctly, check that both upper and lower radiator hoses are warm just in case.
If there are any questions or if I might not have addressed something, let me know because I might have forgotten to mention a step. Anyways, thanks and hopefully this helps the procharged community.
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