Second Generation Thermostat

[treeboo]

Hi, Long-Time (8 months or so) lurker, first time poster here.

I drive a 91 Camry and this site has been great as a resource for some DIY work and diagnosing problems for my automobile. i am hoping now to pose a question. My camry has been running hot for about a week, though I usualy only drive short distances (less than a mile to work, if I drive at all). The TEMP meter starts to crawl past the halfway point when I've been running for about 30 minutes or so on the freeway, and will usually hover around 50% if I run the heater, prompting me to believe that the thermostat needs replacing.

I've looked at pictures of thermostats online, and I vaguely know that the part will be located where the radiator hose hits the engine, but this is where my "knowledge" ends. I was hoping someone could describe the location and methods of accessing this part in my version of the Camry, or could include a picture or two showing roughly the location of the piece. If I can identify and sawp the part out myself, I will certainly post some photos of the job here as a resource to others who may follow, though anyone willing to give a basic overview of the job would be appreciated

Thanks in advance for whatever help I might receive

[Tommy]

open the hood, look to the lower left side of the engine where the radiator hose meets the engine block. Its just beside the exhaust manifold, where that hose meets the engine, that is the thermostat housing, 2-3 bolts and it will come off, exposing the thermostat.

But first, you need to drain the radiator. Find the thumb screw under the radiator, its like a big plastic wing nut, undo that and that and take the cap off and fluid will drain, but make sure you catch it and dispose of it properly

once you got it drained, you can remove the hose to the thermostat housing and then take the thermostat housing off. the thermostat itself should just pull straight out. replace the thermostat, clean the gasket off the housing, apply the new gasket, and CAREFULY bolt the housing back onto the block. Finger tighten the bolts first, then torque them down gently and evenly, but use care not to tighten them too much, as you run the risk of cracking the housing, which is never fun.

Checkout Autozone.com's Repair Zone site. Its basically an online version of a Haynes manual, it will walk you through the whole process.

[csaxon]

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...3d8013e98f.jsp

Might help.