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Thermostat change?

4K views 19 replies 5 participants last post by  Protech 
#1 ·
I just bought a 2000 CE which has not had a coolant change as far as I can tell in the nearly complete service records that came with the car. It has 101K mi. The recommendations from our mechanic that inspected the car were for a belt change and both radiator hoses.

I have parts on the way for a serpentine belt change and upper and lower radiator hose swap. It's my understanding that in order to get to the thermostat you need to remove the alternator, which necessitates the belt removal, and of course draining the coolant.

My question is if it's worth removing the alternator to replace the thermostat at this point in the vehicle's life.

There are no indications the cooling system is a problem, other than the degradation of the radiator hoses. I'm thinking if I'm already removing the belt and draining the cooling system, why not pull the alternator and swap the thermostat, since it's a fairly inexpensive part.

Disclaimer: I'm not a mechanic. This is my first Toyota. But I don't have much fear wrenching on stuff, as long as it's pretty simple. And this all seems to be fairly straight forward.

So, given the belt and hose/coolant change, should I just swap the thermostat as preventative maintenance or is it not worth the effort and (minimal) expense?
 
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#2 ·
You don't have to take the alternator off... the t-stat will come out without that. The oil filter is kinda in the way, so you might consider taking that off. T-stats are cheap, so I think it is good idea to go ahead and change it. On your 2000, as you fill the radiator be sure to push the top radiator hose down. If you don't, coolant won't flow in as necessary and it'll overheat badly.

Just for the record, that is not a serpentine belt, just a multi-groove one!:grin:
 
#3 ·
Change the t-stat, also flush the cooling system with water after you remove the t-stat. Stick your garden hose into the block and back flush, do the radiator too. Flush it all until clear water comes out. Then put it all back together and fill with the pre-mixed coolant, it's idiot proof. That's all I use for obvious reasons.
 
#6 ·
Change the t-stat, also flush the cooling system with water after you remove the t-stat. Stick your garden hose into the block and back flush
Thanks for the recommendation.

Curious about the garden hose flush. While I did that as a much younger man on my 1978 Thunderbird I keep reading about using distilled water only on these Corolla radiators. Even if I refill with the correct 50/50 Asian formula, or factory red & distilled water, will the introduction of tap water on the flush be a problem?
 
#7 ·
I took my alternator off because it;s so easy and fast and gives you MUCH better access to it all.
The alternator takes no more than 5 mins with the right tools.
Just pull it, and it will help bring the "F" count of the project down a bit :)
 
#8 ·
Fantastic info. Thanks.

I'm a record holder in "F-counts" for all kinds of projects around here so keeping that to a minimum may be a good idea.

Either way, pulling alternator or not, it sounds like replacing the t-stat makes sense given the other maintenance going on.
 
#9 ·
Pulling the alternator will give you more room, but I was leaning the other way because some people have problems getting it back on, and you can do the thermostat without it. If you pull the alternator, the trick to reinstalling it is in moving the bushings in the pivot end of the alternator. If you find a way to spread the bushing out, even just a little, it make it MUCH easier to reinstall.
 
#11 ·
Honestly, after going through this whole procedure I have no idea how anyone would be able to get at the thermostat without removing the alternator. I had no problem resetting the alternator.

But I have fat ass hands.

However, I did complete the whole operation. Fluid change, hoses changed, belt changed, thermostat changed.

I did post a thread on a bit of frustration on how difficult it was to get at stuff, but it may have been more of a first hand reaction at working on this car. Perhaps mostly motivated by the huge gash in my hand from replacing the "donut" the week before.

On the whole I'd have to say the routine stuff I've done has been satisfying and I'm looking to keeping it up for another 300k mi.

Next up, some rust removal and probably front struts within 20k mi.
 
#12 ·
This may be too late to help you but may help others. I do work on daughter's 07 Corolla, but I think we both have the same engine, 1ZZ-FE. I didn't have to remove the alternator, but I did have to remove the electric fan to access the lower nut on the thermostat housing. The alternator's lower nut is in the way a bit, but I was able to easily remove the nut using a 1/4'' u-joint socket adapter. The fan assembly has two 10mm bolts and slips out easy after removing the fan electrical connection and reservoir overflow hose.
 
#15 ·
hahah it happens to the best of us...
When you said that I was like WTF?!?!?! There is no way in hell I could do that without pulling it...
but I'm no pro mechanic, and I'm not about to get into a battle with one.
You guys know so many little tricks and quirks to cut down on the labor and time to do stuff, I wasn't going to second guess you :)
 
#16 ·
Hey, if all I have to do to get a thanks is to screw up, my score should be WAY higher! :grin:

We do have some tricks, but the truth is most of the time it is 1) jump in and get your hands dirty, 2) (for me) if it's in the way, move it -- it pays off in the long run, and 3) (the biggest one) have the right tool for the job! Professionals have the advantage of being able to justify the expense in the long run... kinda hard to justify a couple hundred bucks for a job you might do twice in the life of your car, but easy if you do it twice a month on someone else's! (Not to mention getting paid for it!)

As always, thanks for the support! :wink:
 
#17 ·
2) (for me) if it's in the way, move it -- it pays off in the long run
NOT being any kind of mechanic I'm quickly learning this one. But even with removing stuff my knuckles quickly started to resemble chewed gristle, particularly after replacing the "donut".

I have a great deal of respect for those of you who earn a living doing this.
 
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