The Repair Process Begins

The repair process for the customer's car had begun with a simple check-up. The customer reported that the car was overheating, but it was also hard to start and was running wrong. To identify the problem, the mechanic hooked up his fancy scan tool, which revealed no fault codes or problems in the system. The first step was to check the coolant level, which was found to be full, and the cooling fans, which were also checked and found to be working properly.

However, further investigation revealed that the thermostat might be stuck, causing the car to overheat. The mechanic decided to put another thermostat on for this purpose. While it's true that an overheating engine can cause a range of problems, including difficulty starting, there may be other factors at play. In this case, the customer reported that the car was also hard to start when cold, which suggested that something else might be causing the issue.

Checking the Air Filter and Spark Plugs

The next step in the repair process was to check the air filter, which was found not to be particularly dirty. However, it seemed unlikely to be the cause of the problem. The mechanic decided to move on to checking the spark plugs, which required a specialized tool to remove them. Once they were removed, the spark plugs were inspected and found to have gaps that were within normal limits.

However, further inspection revealed that one of the spark plugs was made of radium, which is very expensive but also lasts a long time. The mechanic decided not to change it unless one of them was faulty, as there would be no misfire in the live data to indicate a problem. Instead, he suspected that there might be a problem with the fuel injection system and decided to clean it with some cleaners before proceeding.

Cleaning and Replacing the Thermostat

Before attempting any further repairs, the mechanic decided to get the thermostat changed. He knew that this would prevent the engine from overheating, which was causing other problems such as difficulty starting and running poorly when idling. The first step in changing the thermostat was to remove the air cleaner housing, which required unboltting two big clamps.

As the air cleaner housing was removed, the miracle of discovery revealed itself - the duct that led to the mass airflow sensor was ripped, causing problems with the engine's idle and starting. To fix this issue, a new air duct had to be installed to replace the one that was damaged. The mechanic explained that when the rip in the duct allowed air to bypass the mass airflow sensor, it resulted in an incorrect air-fuel mixture, which further exacerbated the problem.

Replacing the Thermostat Housing

Once the air cleaner housing had been removed and replaced with a new duct, the mechanic moved on to replacing the thermostat housing. This required taking off three 10-millimeter bolts, which were located inside the car. To access these bolts, it was necessary to remove other components of the engine, including the starter.

The mechanic explained that there was very little working room in this design, and he had to "wiggle and pull" to get the thermostat housing out. It seemed like a daunting task, but with patience and persistence, the job could be accomplished. As he worked, the mechanic provided commentary on the difficulties of the repair process.

Replacing the Thermostat

With the air cleaner housing removed and the new duct installed, the next step was to replace the old thermostat housing. This required removing three little bolts that held it in place, which were also located inside the engine. The mechanic had to use a long extension to reach these bolts, as they were hard to access.

Once the old housing had been removed, the mechanic carefully put on a new sealant to prevent leaks and ensure a proper fit. He then installed the new thermostat housing and reinstalled the starter, making sure that it was tight before proceeding.

Putting Everything Back Together

With the new thermostat housing in place, the final step was to put everything back together. This included reinstalling the airbox with the new duct, tightening the clamps securely, and replacing all the covers and components that had been removed during the repair process.

Before starting up the engine, the mechanic made sure that it ran smoothly and there were no leaks. It was also necessary to add coolant, as some of it had dripped out during the repair process. Once these final steps had been completed, the car was ready to be tested and deemed functional.

The Final Test

With all the repairs complete, the next step was to start up the engine and test its performance. The mechanic started the engine, listened for any unusual sounds or leaks, and verified that everything was working properly. If there were no issues, then the repair process had been successful, and the car could be deemed ready for use.

As the article concludes with this final step, it's clear that repairing a faulty thermostat requires patience, persistence, and attention to detail. The mechanic has successfully restored the car to its former functioning state, ensuring that it idles smoothly and runs without overheating.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines okay yeah we've got aproblem car, customer says it'soverheating a little but it's been hardto start and is running wrong of coursethe first thing I did was hook up myfancy scan tool and unfortunately wantedto give me nothing everything's passedno fault we go through the whole systemno problems and it's recorded so we'regonna start simple here says startingoverheat so check the coolant but you cansee it's full all the way to the top andit's a nice pink color it's supposed tobe so let's check the cooling fanseasiest way is start the car up turningAC on full blast then go on to the hoodcheck the cooling fans this one's gonegood and that was one good it's all thecooling fans are working so as far theoverheating could easily be thethermostat is sticking not opening upright so what the heck well just putanother one on for that and nowoverheating can make your car run weirdbut she's also saying it's hard to startwhen it's cold and that won't have anyeffect on that thermostat is stickingshot it will actually start off fastercuz it warm up faster so something elseis doing that so we'll check the airfilter I think it's not particularlydirty do not we check the spark plugsyou gotta use this stretch a hex wrenchto get this stupid thing off my officedoes yeah we take off the coil on plugtake that ten millimeter oh just popsout just a spark plug socket check thatout it comes notice maybe has iridiumplugs they're firing right the kind of awhite light gray that's normal or when Imeasure the gap the gaps pretty normalfor this thing so there's nothingobvious wrong spark plugs these are radiumthey're very expensive but they last along time there's no sense changing themif one of them say was bad and theothers weren't I would have a misfirecoat and there's none of that in the live data so there's gotta be aproblem I'm assuming in the fuelinjection system so I'm gonna try toclean it with some cleaners but firstbefore things even get hotterI'm gonna get the thermostat so althoughthat at least that won't be stuck shotmaking the engine overheat so the firstthing we'll do is change the thermostatthey open and close with heat and I'massuming this one is just staying closedat times and making the car overeat howto do this you have to take the aircleaner housing out of the way so we'll unbolt that there's two big clamps and pull it offand as we pull it off, miracle of miracles we find out why it'sprobably not running all that well thisthe duct is all ripped we have to replace itworking logically has miracles like thisjust take an air cleaner off to get tothe thermostat big ducts ripped andthat's why it's idling badlook at that haha because when this ripsthen air gets sucked in which bypassesthe mass airflow sensor so the massairflow sensor doesn't meter this andyou get the wrong air fuel mixture whichof course will make it run poorlyespecially when it's idling and you'restarting it well we're gonna change thethermostat first so once we get the topoff we take the bolts off inside there'sthree of themget them out of this babyit's hidden way inside here you gottatake on and off to get to this and thenunbolt the hoses and pull it out thenyou remove the three little 10millimeter bolts that hold thethermostat in place their hard toget so you need a long extension toreach them and then the thermostat housingjust Wiggles out there's not muchworking room on this thing it's like ohwe gotta wiggle and pull and believe itor not there's so little working room onthis crappy design you got to take thestarter off to get it off so here goesthe star this so unfold the two startedbolts so turning on so you got swirl itquite a bit not it comesand we got to pull the starter out of they way, alright nowwe can get the thermostat housing outand it should give us enough room then you canreach you with pliers and there it is asyou can see it's stuck shut, I meanthe old one was in there for what 17 yearsnormally I'd change it more often butthis is such a job you can see mostpeople know I gotta change them untilthey finally break, you see there's alittle dongle here that's an air bleederyou put it in so that's on the top wherethe air will be and as you can see thebeen hair it pushes right in the holethe rubber seals it can you put thethermostat housing back over it don'tyou just put the three bolts back onfirst put them on hand tight and now I'mmake them snug with the ratchet then ofcourse you got to bolt the starter backon there's the starter it sure is onegigantic pain in the butt to changethe thermostat just keep turn untilthe starter is tight yeah we put the airbox back in the hole they don't make it easy, and remember toput the new air duct in for the one thatwas ripped just slips on this onethen slip the other end on the air boxmake the clamps tight huh don't forgetto do both of them, then before weput all the covers and everything backon we're starting it up make sure itruns and make sure there's no leaks andthen of course as it warms up we got toadd coolant because some of it drippedout we change the thermostat and thereyou have ita car that idles smooth and run smooth and there'sno longer overheating, so if you neverwant to miss another one of my new carrepair videos, remember to ring that Bell\n"