thermostat replacement

[semiretired]

Well, I replaced the #19 fuse and the blower works like a charm.

Decided to replace the thermostat. Was difficult to get to the bolts holding the Thermostat housing so I decided to remove the fan shroud.
:( The shroud was so old and brittle that it basically dissentigrated with mild handling. The whole damn thing came off in about six pieces.

And the fan was covered with gunk. A little gun cleaner brush got most of it out.

My question for the board is this: Is it required to remove the fan to get to the thermostat housing bolts? Its a tight squeeze.

OT: My Girlfriend wants me to sell the car.

[Dr. evil]

no it is not required to remove the fan shroud. requires more effort but saves some time

[Dave M]

Its also not a requirement to sell the car ;)

[The Bigfella]

Sell the girlfriend

[632 Regal]

pictures required.

Sell the girlfriend

[shogun]

I did the T-stat change yesterday on my E32 750 Alpina B12 5.0
Dropped the fan blade to the bottom but did not remove it our of the engine room, then removed the bolts from water pump housing, quickly took out the defective t-stat (one side broken) and replaced it with another one.
Took me 2 liters of coolant which was gone (out of totally abt. 12 liters). 20 minutes engines running in idle to get to operating temp., heater full on, bleeding took place on it's own and engine runs smooth.
So if I can do it on a Alpina V12, I see no prob on a 525 where much more space is.

[semiretired]

I did the T-stat change yesterday on my E32 750 Alpina B12 5.0
Dropped the fan blade to the bottom but did not remove it our of the engine room, then removed the bolts from water pump housing, quickly took out the defective t-stat (one side broken) and replaced it with another one.
Took me 2 liters of coolant which was gone (out of totally abt. 12 liters). 20 minutes engines running in idle to get to operating temp., heater full on, bleeding took place on it's own and engine runs smooth.
So if I can do it on a Alpina V12, I see no prob on a 525 where much more space is.
I can not get to the bottom two bolts that hold the thermostat housing to the water pump. The fan is just too close.

I can get to the top two bolts easily with a ratchet/socket. Do you use a deep socket or what? I've tried the shortest extension I have but it is still too long--the fan is in the way.

I really don't want to remove the fan.

I feel so helpless.

[DaveVoorhis]

I really don't want to remove the fan.
It's easy to remove the fan. Get a fan clutch wrench (these are cheap), hook it to the fan clutch nut and give it a sharp wrap with a 5lb sledge or heavy hammer in a clockwise direction. The fan and clutch will (usually) easily spin off.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

you can change the tstat without removing fan & shroud. Just need to use a 1/4 drive ratchet with a universal and a few short extensions. This seemed to take a lot of squeezing to reach the bolts and I had a tiny leak at the gasket somewhere. so take care and squeeze in ther and clean the block.

so next time...

I took off the shroud, made a clutch tool out of a stip of metal and took the fan off.

lots of room to turn a ratchet and clean the gasket surfaces.