thermostat ?

[kwondo]

thermostat 82 to 88

i went out in my mistral tonight and it seemed to take ages for the windscreen to clear enough for me to see out of , even with the aircon on it wasnt really clearing the screen .... temp gauge was hardly off the bottom , and vents where only blowing warmish air .... so i took it for a run on the motorway and thrashed it ...... no difference .... so im thinking the thermostat has stuck open ..... am i correct in my assumption ?

hi all, just a quick note i change my thermostat, twice a year, i have an 82 and an 88 that i just change over for winter and summer.

Winter, i use an 88 degress c themostat keeps the temperature about half way on the gauge and nice and *HOT* in a few minutes ( would not use this if towing)

Summer i would change back to the standard 82 degress c keeps the gauge just off the bottom and only increases to just below the half way when towing my caravan.

note: the higher the tehermostat rating the more heat is retained in the heater matrix, i geusss someone with a better understanding will explain later,
cheers
Kwondo

 

[lacroupade]

Have to agree only foreign matter to keep it open, always found stats to fail in closed position never found one jammed open in 18 years of being mechanic:nenau Always have to remove center as a temp repair.

well all I can say is the one I swapped out at Xmas was in exacly that open condition. Water was permanently circulating and minimal heater. Once changed for a new one everything returned to normal.

As for people swapping 82 to 88 and back again, IMHO, having driven an assortment of these trucks hard for more than 14 years, I consider that a complete and utterly unnecessary waste of time. A permanent 88 degree is more than adequate, towing included. But whatever floats your boat I suppose!

 

[11redrex]

Pete, buy a new one just in case, but im still reserved about it failing-Rick fitted a new one, im certain they last longer than this. My worry is you keep topping up the coolant, so unless this is due to a failed thermostat and water is leaking out the housing perhaps?

anyway, £12 gets a new thermostat and 5 easy minutes to swap it. I fitted my new gasket too, didnt have one on the old one, but i had to cut mine to shape as it was some sort of universal gasket...

Pete if you have to top your coolant up all the time you've got a leak somewhere.

How much are you losing and how often (ie, 250ml a day ? 1 litre a week ?) Mines uses a bit because the rad leaks. I know when it's gone down because the heater doesn't get as hot.

If you're topping up often you might have got an airlock in the system and the coolant might not be getting up to the matrix.

When you change your stat, run a hosepipe (slowly) up one heater pipe until the water flows out of the other, then reconnect them to the stat housing, that way you'll know the matrix is full. When you top the system up via the radiator make sure and squeeze the bottom hose gently until no more bubbles appear in the rad filler.

To check where it's leaking from, sit in the car and give it some revs, then get someone to look for leaks.

 

[solarman216]

well all I can say is the one I swapped out at Xmas was in exacly that open condition. Water was permanently circulating and minimal heater. Once changed for a new one everything returned to normal.

if you still have that stat I will pay postage/packing and would like to see it and pull it apart to find out how, Rick

 

[briggie]

Pete if you have to top your coolant up all the time you've got a leak somewhere.

How much are you losing and how often (ie, 250ml a day ? 1 litre a week ?) Mines uses a bit because the rad leaks. I know when it's gone down because the heater doesn't get as hot.

If you're topping up often you might have got an airlock in the system and the coolant might not be getting up to the matrix.

When you change your stat, run a hosepipe (slowly) up one heater pipe until the water flows out of the other, then reconnect them to the stat housing, that way you'll know the matrix is full. When you top the system up via the radiator make sure and squeeze the bottom hose gently until no more bubbles appear in the rad filler.

To check where it's leaking from, sit in the car and give it some revs, then get someone to look for leaks.

this airlock thingie sounds interesting ,last time i checked the coolant ( yesterday ) it didnt need any top up , but when i do need to top it up , it takes about a litre , so it might not be the stat then ?

 

[felixthelogchopper]

if you still have that stat I will pay postage/packing and would like to see it and pull it apart to find out how, Rick

I don't know how or why it was jammed open but I had exactly that problem with the thermostat when I first bought my Mav :nenau

 

[lacroupade]

if you still have that stat I will pay postage/packing and would like to see it and pull it apart to find out how, Rick

sadly i slung it in halfords rubbish bin.....

 

[rustic]

if you still have that stat I will pay postage/packing and would like to see it and pull it apart to find out how, Rick

I know what you mean, when I replaced my windsceen washer pump I pulled it apart. Quite easy, top is clipped on. The motor had rust on it and the shaft was seized, I rotated the shaft with pliers, it rotated but very "gritty" I think the brushes had warn down and jammed but it did run again. But no longer reliable.

Did the same with my washer jet, non-return valve had failed. Pulled it apart, removed non return valve and bits of broken spring and glued it back together without the valve.

If things fail against what I understand, I have to know why as well.:thumb2

However I sometimes keep the bits just in case they come in handy
Drives the wife around the bend.. but when I have to replace an inlet valve on the washing machine she doesn't complain then.
I had a spare mini windscreen once, given to me by a friend, came in handy a long time back when her screen smashed. Fixed in 30 minutes.

The importance of keeping "junk" is to have it organised, and know where it is. :thumb2

 

[kbekl]

i just changed mine in the trooper and it failed with it open in a way they stat had lost the sealing rubber and you can see day light through it the stat still worked fine but the seal had perished so it was always open

 

[briggie]

if i can stop coughing and throwing up , im going to attempt doing this thermostat today ..... wish me well lol

 

[felixthelogchopper]

if i can stop coughing and throwing up , im going to attempt doing this thermostat today ..... wish me well lol

Have fun with it, Briggie. I'm going to be cleaning my MAF with my busted finger so I will be in the same boat. Don't forget to make sure you clean all the old gasket off carefully with a chisel before putting the new gasket on

 

[briggie]

Have fun with it, Briggie. I'm going to be cleaning my MAF with my busted finger so I will be in the same boat. Don't forget to make sure you clean all the old gasket off carefully with a chisel before putting the new gasket on

err...... i aint got a chisel ...... i hadnt thought of that

my plan is ......

disconnect +ve batt lead

undo top of thermostat housing

lift out old stat

stick new one in

tighten up

lift rad cap off and stick a copious quantity of antifreeze in and top up wiv water

rad cap back on

one happy briggie

 

[briggie]

sounds easy doesnt it ?....... oh and a couple of stops between for a cuppa :thumb2

 

[felixthelogchopper]

No wonder you have a leak elsewhere! Mate, once you break the seal on a gasket you need to replace it. Wait until you have the kit to do it properly and then reseal it either with a paper gasket or some instant gasket paste like Hermetite, preferably both. At a push, you can get rid of the old gasket with an old Stanley blade but watch your fingers.

 

[briggie]

No wonder you have a leak elsewhere! Mate, once you break the seal on a gasket you need to replace it. Wait until you have the kit to do it properly and then reseal it either with a paper gasket or some instant gasket paste like Hermetite, preferably both. At a push, you can get rid of the old gasket with an old Stanley blade but watch your fingers.

a gasket thingie came in the kit ..... ive also found a tube of tetrasyl instant gasket !!!! ....... one thing bothers me .... what if the guy who sold me the thermostat was fibbing when he said it was the right one ?

 

[felixthelogchopper]

a gasket thingie came in the kit ..... ive also found a tube of tetrasyl instant gasket !!!! ....... one thing bothers me .... what if the guy who sold me the thermostat was fibbing when he said it was the right one ?

Why would he? For a start, it probably won't fit if it is wrong so if you can't get the housing back together then don't force it. Temperature wise, run it all up afterwards so you can check for leaks and watch your temp guage for any problems. I think you should read up on doing it before you start so you don't end up with any airlocks in the heater matrix or elsewhere. :thumb2

 

[briggie]

Why would he? For a start, it probably won't fit if it is wrong so if you can't get the housing back together then don't force it. Temperature wise, run it all up afterwards so you can check for leaks and watch your temp guage for any problems. I think you should read up on doing it before you start so you don't end up with any airlocks in the heater matrix or elsewhere. :thumb2

http://www.nissan4x4ownersclub.com/downloads/workshop/wk11.pdf

omg i was just gonna take the stat housing off and stick another in ..... looks complicated now ..... wish i hadnt read that now

 

[felixthelogchopper]

http://www.nissan4x4ownersclub.com/downloads/workshop/wk11.pdf

omg i was just gonna take the stat housing off and stick another in ..... looks complicated now ..... wish i hadnt read that now

You can normally get away with moving the pipes aside and easing it out like that but you still need to look out for airlocks. I've always gone with the maxim, if I don't fancy the look of a job, step back and have a longer look. Isn't there another member up there who can sit with you while you do it to stop you going wrong? If I was a bit closer, ie less than nearly 300 miles :lol, I would come round and do mine at the same time as I have an 88 degree number to put in mine when my finger is fixed.

 

[briggie]

job cancelled ..... removing bottom rad hose is not a option i can do

 

[Peasgood]

You don't need to take the bottom hose off, or the battery lead for that matter.
There are just 3 bolts to undo and then clean off the old gasket.
There wasn't an exact match of gasket in the one i got, just used the nearest fit and elongated one of the holes. Worked for me.