Immediate Help Needed! Thermostat V6

[CiscoPath]

I know the info is probably in here somewhere, but I have been under that hood for about two hours and a little too irritated to research.

How the heck do your undo the bottom bolt of the thermostat housing?


I admit that i'm barely mechanically inclined, but I know changing the stat can be done by a home mechanic and place a book in front of me and i'll follow along. HAYNES IS A FREAKIN' JOKE. They only say to disconnect two hoses from the housing and undo the bolts. No where does it mention the freakin' shield blocking the way, nor does it even show it in the illustration. In the illustration, you would think that entire side of the engine bay was desolate.

And another thing bugging me is the coolant system flush process. I drained the radiator, but then it says to drain from the block???? I saw no drain plugs on the block except for oil. And they also have an "drawn" illustration of sticking the water hose in the top of the radiator and let it flush. WE HAVE NO OPENINGS IN THE TOP OF OUR RADIATORS, SO WHERE DO I STICK THE HOSE???. Again I'm sorry, but can anyone give me the step-by-step on what to do. I'm about to go and TRY to change the tranny fluid. I would just love to accomplish something with this thing today

[jabartram]

use a wrench on the bottom thermo housing bolt. once you get the thermostat out you can flush with a hose, and if you change the tranny fluid, the only way to check proper level is to set the car on jack stands level and remove the level plug while the engine is running.

[CiscoPath]

but where in the system do I place the water hose?

[Ryan from Ohio]

Here ya go.

Remove the thermostat, replace the housing.

Pull the top right hose off the radiator. Insert hose, squueze the hose TIGHTLY and let the water rip. Use a sprayer so you can pulsate it...

Install new thermostat and call it a day.

As far as tranny change goes, if you drain it and know how much needs to be in there, add that amount. Problem solved.

[brim]

it will bang against the heat shield a bit, eventually it should free itself up tho, the struggle will prevail buddy

[Cliff8928]

Oh, and if you didn't know, the bottom bolt on the water outlet (thermostat housing) does not need to be completely removed. The hole is slotted.

[CiscoPath]

Tranny fluid changed - Changed oil - Changed spark plug wires. Still couldn't get that the housing open, so i'm just bite the bullet and take it to the shop for the coolant flush. Gonna also have them install HyperTech thermostat too. Only thing that worries me is that now the muffler makes the "puff" noise as though it's missing. Could one of the wires not be tight?