I'd had a consistant low reading on my coolant temperature gauge It was just under 80 deg C. A visit from Tom (Timmus) established that it was a faulty thermostat. I've surprised myself, today! I completed this task (A2 Diesel) in under 30 minutes. Here's how :-
Where the thermostat is located
It's between the alternator and the oil-filter housing. There is a difficult to access 10mm bolt below the housing. You need a shallow socket.
I used this tool (Source: Halfords)
The faulty thermostat (corroded)
A few tips ..... When unscrewing the lower bolt, have a magnetic grab tool adjacent, so that the bolt won't drop! No need to drain the system down. After removing the thermostat housing, pull out the rubber ring seal. Make sure that you have the replacement thermostat to hand. Quickly pull out the faulty thermostat and then insert the new thermostat. The result? Very little loss of any coolant!. After a run and checking for leaks, the job is done. The displayed temperature was a rock-steady 90 deg. C and the warm-up was quite rapid.
David
Where the thermostat is located
It's between the alternator and the oil-filter housing. There is a difficult to access 10mm bolt below the housing. You need a shallow socket.
I used this tool (Source: Halfords)
The faulty thermostat (corroded)
A few tips ..... When unscrewing the lower bolt, have a magnetic grab tool adjacent, so that the bolt won't drop! No need to drain the system down. After removing the thermostat housing, pull out the rubber ring seal. Make sure that you have the replacement thermostat to hand. Quickly pull out the faulty thermostat and then insert the new thermostat. The result? Very little loss of any coolant!. After a run and checking for leaks, the job is done. The displayed temperature was a rock-steady 90 deg. C and the warm-up was quite rapid.
David
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