I could be wrong, but I thought these cars all came with fail-safe thermostats that are built to stick OPEN if they stick, not to stick closed.



You can always follow the upper radiator hose on just about any engine, and it will lead to the thermostat housing.


Should just be one, a screw/bolt on top of the thermostat housing. Let the car warm up (then shut the car off) and open that valve just a bit until you hear air hissing out. Close it when coolant starts coming out. Put a towel around it to catch the coolant and to prevent a mess.

-Riggs.

 

***UPDATE**

I replaced the thermostat and bled the system of all the air. So far so good but after driving a long distance one day I noticed a coolant like smell coming from the car. I couldnt find any obvious leaks and the coolant level in the radiator dropped a little bit. That being said looks like I have a little leak from somewhere. The intake gasket was leaking about 40k miles ago and was replaced. The water pump has been replaced and now the thermostat. Whats the best way to figure this out? It appears to be a slow leak but I after poking around I can def smell it. The car has 127k miles btw.

Thanks

 

a pressure test would be the best way to find a leak.

 

Ok thanks, do I just go to a repair shop for that? This maybe a dumb question but how can they tell? Just by there the coolant leaks out?

 

It will force through the engine, and when it loses pressure (depending on the entrance site) they can determine where the engine leak is.

 

every one thats engine savy knows if a thermostat said if it fails it will stick open is not true. because of this reson hear it stuck open then got stuck shut showing a faulty thermostat. if a thermostat is designed to stick open due to failure shuldent it be open all the time? also there are other vehicles new and old getting head work done due to a faulty thermostat. it makes the gasket or heads break if the engin goes when driving while hot. if the temp fluctuates like that and hard to get heat out of the heater core. as well replace the thermostat quick fast and in a hurry. to prevent a head check and overhaul is needed

 

Part or all of that smell could be any antifreeze that got on the intake that is now burning off. If you check your intake and see antifreeze then I would bet that is where the smell is coming from.

As for t-stats sticking open or closed...I have had them stick either way. Yes, most of the time they stick open but I have had about 3 in 16ish years that have stuck closed, and one was brand new and it would not open. When I buy a new t-stat, I take a pan of boiling water and drop it in and make sure it will open then i repeat for about 3 times. It may seem silly to someone but when you don't have any heat and you just froze changing your t-stat to what you thought was a good one and then when for a 20 min drive and on the way home it got really cold and you had no heat do to the new t-stat not opening...then have to freeze again changing it out again...yea I do it as alittle extra measure.

Also there could be some crap in the system that may have gotten on the t-stat that is now stopping it from openning...just a thought.

 

Hello Vehicle car matter experts,


I need to change the thermostat on my car. I never done this before. The parts of my car I have experience changing on my car are the tires, 02 sensor and the battery. The reason why I am asking is because I tried to do smog and they said the 02 sensor was good. The thermostat needs to be changed out. So I bought a Thermostat and a hose and coolant and spare hose metal tie downs to keep in place just in case I need to change out the hose as well. I would be so happy if someone could help me. When and if someone decides to give me advice, please try to discuss to solution to a brand new car user. Cause that is what I technically am. I love my car and being in the military doesn't really always give me time to do what I would like to do to my car. If you wish to contact me personally, my e-mail is ddjschaller@gmail.com. For those of you who give me help and advice. Thank you very much. Your knowledge will help me in the long. I'm not on a personal computer, so this is the only I can post things for now. Sorry if this confuses anyone.

 

You might want to start a whole new THREAD on this so that people can respond directly to the issue and put in the title what you problem is.
Then you should also indicate the year and model of the Monte, engine size etc. this would get the most attention for your issues. Changing out the thermostat in most of the GM V6 or V8's can be a little more of a challenge than a traditional V8 Small Block or big block too. Try the section on Monte Carlo help and repair!!

 

Some mechanics actually would use a smoke machine which send a vapor through the block to find leaks. (I took mechanic courses and have done this). Simple process and it shouldn’t take but maybe 5 minutes.