Tips on thermastat replacement?

[AZ Ron]

Picked up a new one at NAPA.  They also sold me a rubber ring to go with it.  Why doesn't the thermostat come with a gasket?

Any tips/tricks/things to watch out for?  It appears that the bolt that holds the housing down is a bit hard to access.

Thanks in advance.

1988 model.

[Ronnie]

I think there is a tutorial on ROJ for installing the thermostat. There is more than one gasket design that was used on the Reatta. That may be the reason one isn't included with the thermostat. Make sure you have the correct one before installing the thermostat and put a little lubricant on it. The bolt is hard to get to. Make sure the water neck goes straight in and don't over tighten the bolt.

[AZ Ron]

Waiting for the PB Blaster to work on the bolt.  Looks to be an 11mm head.  I sure hope I don't bust it off!

I will read the tutorial while I wait.

Thanks!

[AZ Ron]

This job would have been much easier if the engineers had placed the bolt so that it had easier access.  The steel bolt in the aluminum manifold was almost welded in there.  If it were not for PB Blaster and lots of patience it never would have come out.

When I put everything back together I made sure to coat it with heat resistant anti seize so the next person who has to remove it will have an easier time.

I replaced the old stat with the stock 195 degree thermostat.  Test drive around town showed it to be good.

On another note; My local Chevrolet/Buick dealer was having a party today with music, food, door prizes and games.  I parked my 88 Reatta out front by the grill and not even one person stopped to look at it or to comment. :huh:

[fordrodsteven]

On another note; My local Chevrolet/Buick dealer was having a party today with music, food, door prizes and games.  I parked my 88 Reatta out front by the grill and not even one person stopped to look at it or to comment. :huh:

 

That's because the Buick employees who would have recognized it, in the past, have now all retired. The new employees have no idea what it is and the technicians there don't know how to troubleshoot and / or fix it.

[kiwigram]

Amen to that statement. I took mine into the local dealership for some repairs, and I got it back doing exactly the same thing I took it in for. And after spending big bucks. I talked to the Service Manager and all he could come up with was that I was using the wrong fuel.

[Ronnie]

 

That's because the Buick employees who would have recognized it, in the past, have now all retired. The new employees have no idea what it is and the technicians there don't know how to troubleshoot and / or fix it.

 

Amen to that statement.  I took mine into the local dealership for some repairs, and I got it back doing exactly the same thing I took it in for.  And after spending big bucks.  I talked to the Service Manager and all he could come up with was that I was using the wrong fuel.

 

These are good reasons that as Reatta owners we need to stick together as a community that focuses on sharing information about how to keep these cars on the road. That is the purpose of this website but it seems like people are reluctant to take part in it unless they are the one needing advice. We should all be helping each other anytime we can. 

 

As time goes on situations like those described above are going to get more frequent. Technicians who work on modern cars depend on the car telling them what is wrong in order to know how to fix it. The Reatta does a good job in doing that if you take the time to learn how to use the on-board diagnostic system. Most of the dealerships don't have people that know how to work on these cars and they don't really care to learn anything about them so those who take their Reattas to a mechanic to have it repaired need to be able to have the knowledge, or at least a good idea of what needs to be done to fix the problem, in order to have your Reatta repaired correctly. .