yes. need the right tools... i have done it many times... take of throttle body...
The thermostat is located at the back of the engine under the exhaust manifold on passenger side. The radiator outlet pipe bolts are accessed from the top of the engine down between no 2 and 3 exhaust manifold runners.
if you follow the lower rad hose, under the engine it connects to a metal pipe which goes up the back of the engine. the thermostat is located in that pipe where it joins to the water pump. I found yhe least frustrating way to change it is to remove the exhaust pipe and manifold, and you will be able to see the housing clearly.
its very hard to get to. if you look down the firewall on the left side. you have to remove the heat shield. i wound up dropping the exhaust and removing the exhaust manifold because its mounted under the water pump which is under the manifold.
thermostat is located under the exhaust manifold at the rear of engine and held by 2 10mm bolts
We just replaced our entire exhaust system in a 97 skylark custom 4 cylinder 2.4. It cost us almost $700.
The thermostat housing is directly under the exhaust man. on the backside of the motor. There are two 8mm bolts straight down going into the lower fixed hose. Be sure to have a fresh O-ring to go around the thermostat.
They are in the exhaust flow
the thermosts on a 96 olds achieva is on the transmission side of the engine toward the middle and is hard to reach. it is best to use samll 1/4" tools to remove it and sometimes made easier by removing exhaust shrouds. other wise it's held in by two bolts and comes loose fairly easy. The thermostat on the 1996 2.3L and 2.4L (Quad 4)engines is located above the radiator outlet pipe in the water pump cover which can be reached from under the vehicle on the passenger side. Note: The bolts are accessible from the top of the engine between the no. 2 and 3 exhaust manifold runners. It may be necessary to remove the engine to transaxle support brace to facilitate removal of the radiator outlet pipe. On all other engines the thermostat is located in the coolant outlet housing on the cylinder head.
the O2 Sensor Should be on top of your exhaust manifold
Bad head gasket or... Crack in exhaust port in head. Check exhaust for presence of antifreeze smell or exhaust gas in radiator.
You must remove the exhaust manifold it's easy to do once this is done.also the front timing cover need to be removed because the water pump driven by the chain.
the push rods for the exhaust and intake on that cylinder are reversed. the exhaust pushrod is 6.07 inches whereas the intake is about 6.