How do you replace the thermostat located on a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am SE 2.4L twin cam?

Answer 1

Hi, To change a thermostat in a 1990 P,G,A SE 2.4L twin cam. You open the hood, stand on the drivers side of the engine, (or the opposite side from the belts), and look toward the middle of the engine block. You will find you have to remove the Air Intake hose and unbolt the plastic cover off the air cleaner. This will expose the hose and thermostat bolts. There are two bolts. First diconnect the hose from the goose neck (the large hose directly from the bottom of the radiator. You do not have to disconnect the other hoses (2 or 3 smaller hoses) from the head of the goose neck. You will need a 5/16 socket or large blade screwdriver to loose the radiator connection. Pull the goose neck from the engine block and remember the way the pointed side of the thermostat is facing (toward the engine block). Make sure you clean the goose neck surface where the thermostat sits and also the face of the engine block where the thermostat sits into. They recommend using a silicon lubricant (not alot), just enough to cover the seats (openings), that the thermostate will be sitting back in. This should do the trick. I've ripped down many of engines, and have to admit this one stumped me. The books and mags out there are far and few. I've hunted to no avail. So I went to my garage guy (which I thought was pretty unethical), but he did point it out and told me what to do. I asked his permission to publish this and he said O.K. Oh....make sure you have a bucket or a pan to catch the residual, animals need not eat this stuff. By the way use the dex cool antifreeze,as the others have silicants in them and tend to block up you heater core or the radiator core. Good Luck jimpii.

hmm this is what i found...

the 2.4 litre 4 cylinder engine, its located inside the radiator outlet pipe that hooks to the rear of the water pump at the passenger side rear of the engine. Here is what i have gathered to replace it.... REMOVE OR DISCONNECT

remove Negative battery cable. Drain and recover the coolant until level is below thermostat. remove the Coolant inlet housing bolt accessible through exhaust manifold. Raise vehicle. remove Radiator outlet pipe stud. remove Second coolant inlet - housing bolt. remove Coolant inlet housing.(thermostat housing) remove Thermostat. Clean housing surface.

INSTALL OR CONNECT

Install Thermostat. Install Coolant inlet housing and gasket, then torque bolts to 14 Nm (10 ft lbs) . Install Coolant inlet housing bolt. Lower vehicle. Install Coolant inlet housing bolt through exhaust manifold. Fill system with antifreeze(anti corrosive)and pressure test cooling system(if applicable), then inspect for leaks