Thermostat change

[Jonnyf007]

Hi all,
Does anyone know how difficult it is to change the thermostat on a clio 182 ? Im going to try replacing tomorrow after having purchased a new one from renault today but would like any advice or tips from any one that has changed there's before.
I have also purchased 5 liters of renaults own coolant would that be enough to fill up the system as im aware that in the process i will loose all my coolant.
Cheers
Jon

 

[jesus]

Unscrew 3 bolts from housing, pull old one out, put new one in (quickly) and screw the bolts back in.

Couple of things to watch out for:

- Don't do it after driving. Let the engine cool fully down! (I know it's obvious but you'd be surprised...)
- Have the seal on the new one ready for putting it straight in. You'll only lose about 1.5 litres if you're quick or a bit more if you take longer.
- Watch out tightening the bolts back up. I did it one-by-one on my 172 and managed to snap one which got stuck in the engine block. Oops!

A full coolant change would be around 7 litres if fully flushed. You'll be fine with 5

 

[Jonnyf007]

thanks for the quick reply, i will take into consideration on your advice and make sure i wait till the car cools down . And ill try not to snap a bolt :S
Sounds quite simple

 

[.Ben.]

You may also want to note the bleed screw in the side of the thermostat housing.

 

[jesus]

You may also want to note the bleed screw in the side of the thermostat housing.

I didn't touch that when I changed mine. It's a dead simple job

 

[Eddie.]

As Jamie said basically.

Bleeding is a good idea though, I only partially bled mine and had problems. It was fine once I bled the air out

 

[.Ben.]

Mine was a full system drain & flush though. Also, the thermostat change pretty much emptied my block anyway!

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

How did you get on mate, im thinking about attempting this tomorrow!

 

[Scrooge]

It's a very easy job mate. Always try and bleed it and let it run up to temp beofre walking away thinking the job is done, best to be on the safe side.

 

[Jonnyf007]

So i changed my thermostat today, all went very well. dead simple job like the guys said really...... Air box off 3 bolts 10mm ratchet and a small extender to get into the tricky bottom bolt for easy access then old one out new one in as simple as that really.
I lost about 2 litres of coolant by doing the job..... topped her up let the car warm up then check for any leakages etc to make sure the bolts were on tightly..... didnt need to bleed the system or drain it well its up to you really but i chose not to...... Car warms up perfect. Took it out for a 10 mile run to make sure no issues or no coolant leak etc..... checked the coolant again and runs like a dream now

 

[jesus]

What did I tell you

 

[Dan519]

Should always bleed the system

 

[biojo]

easy job to do. just dont drop yer socket down engine bay like i did lol