How do you change the thermostat on a 1996 Nissan Quest GXE?

Answer 1

The way I changed my thermostat.To change the thermostat on a 1996 Nissan quest first you have to put the car on jackstands and start safely. then you need to remove the protective rubber flaps thet are screwed into the wheel well. then you need to take off all of the serpentine type belts that are on the crankshaft pully. then you need to take off the upper and lower timing belt housings. after this is done you will be able to access all of the bolts on the thermostat housing. take these off and use a small flat head screw driver to gently pry off the thermostat housing. make a note of which directoion the orriginal thermostat is in there. now you need to scrape off all old gasket or gasket compound and use nail polish remover or paint thinner to clean the joining surfaces, or you will get a leak and have to do all of this over. then you put the new thermostat into the housing, apply a thin coat of gasket adheasive, then put the new gasket on the housing and apply a thin evev coat of gasket adheasive to the gasket. then you install the thermostat and housing at the same time, making sure that the jiggly valve is at the top and free to jiggle. then replace the bolts, finger tight. then tighten the bolts in a criss-cross patern(like you do with lug nuts). then put the rest of the car back toghether.

Just to add my own experience, I was able to do the job differently. I did not have to remove the timing belt covers. Didnt see why that was needed and it seemed like it would be harder than the job itself. The only thing I had to do with the belts was to LOOSEN the belt that drives the water pump and Power Steering. Also, I removed the top hose form the radiator and folded it back out of the way. With the slack in it, I was able to get the socket on the bolt. Speaking of which...I did have to use an assortment of knuckle adapters and different length sockets. I also got a ratchet handle that had a long extendable handle. One of the four bolts was a real challenge, I had to use a long handled offset head wrench. So, tricky, but doable, and for me it saved me from taking alot of crap apart. And from the bottom, it looks VERY scary trying to get to these bolts!