I am needing to know some info on how to replace my thermostat on my older Oldsmobile. I know it is a pain in the butt to replace it due to its location but it need to be done. My car has been running on the warm side. I tided both fans together to help it cool down a little bit quicker. All the wrenches I have will not fit right right on the bolt to the thermostat housing. I tried SAE and Metric and neither one of them worked. So it there a special type of wrench I need to replace it or it there a certain trick to replacing it. Also I have the Type 1 3800 V6. I only have a LIM (Lower Intake Manifold) not upper and lower. Any and all advice will be help full on how to replace my thermostat. Thanks.

I'm not aware that changing the thermostat on your car is a difficult task. Follow the upper rad hose to the engine, and the housing the hose clamps to is the housing that contains the thermostat. Drain some coolant out of the system (or just put a pan on the ground to catch the fluid when you remove the hose from the tstat housing), remove the clamp and hose, and there should be 2 bolts holding the housing down. Remove the bolts and pull the housing. When installing the tstat make sure the spring side is down and you clean the gasket surface thoroughly. Many people just use RTV, but I prefer to use the proper gasket.

Now, let'* talk about your car running on the warm side. When a tstat fails it typically fails in the open position, meaning coolant is flowing through the rad all the time. The symptom of a failed tstat is your car won't come up to temp in the winter, not that it overheats in the summer. Replacing a tstat is always an inexpensive first step in diagnosing heating/cooling issues, but it will probably not correct your overheating problem. It doesn't hurt to replace the tstat, but I suggest a good rad flush and coolant replacement may be more effective.

By the way, make sure your engine is cooled right down before starting any work involving the tstat or rad coolant.

If locating and removing the housing is more difficult than I describe, post pictures showing where the upper rad hose connects to the engine so we can see what you have.

I wish mine was that easy but it isn't. I was gonna due a flush at the same time I was gonna replace the thermostat to ensure I got the coolant system cleaned out really good. Also I took a few pics to show yall how much a pain it is to get to it. Also it has new hoses on it. Upper and Lower.

Yeah, a little tighter than I thought. Be patient and remove as much stuff in the way as you can. I find myself on occassion spending an extra hour because a bracket is in the way, when it would only take 2 minutes to remove the bracket.

I still say running on the warm side is not the sign of a bad thermostat. There are always exceptions to every rule, but a thoermostat usually fails in the open position which causes your car to run cooler, not hotter. I think your problem lies elsewhere, hence the suggestion to flush the cooling system.

You said you tied your fans together, but you may have tied them both to the high temp setting. One fan kicks on at a lower temp, and the other kicks on if the temp gets higher. Depending on how you wired it, you may have both fans coming on at the high temp, rather than at the low.

Is a cooling fan suppose to sound like a Jumbo Jet taking off? The second fan I had to replace the motor in it but the other fan has the original fan motor in it. But it is really loud and has some noise to it when it slows down. Could the primary fan motor be getting weak. If that could be my problem the motors are really cheap at my local auto parts store.

If you replaced one, the other is probably due. Particularly if it is making noises like you describe.

I'm still concerned over how you wired them.

Well the secondary fan caught on fire last year. But I wired them by running jump wires from one fan to another. I removed some of the wire about an inch and a half down from each one of the fan connectors and ran some automotive wire from one connector to the other. So when the primary fan kicks on the secondary fan kicks on to.

Deathdealer,

I've worked on a '89 Delta 88 and replaced the thermostat and it wasn't too unorthodox of a thermostat replacement job. The biggest headache I remember encountering was tracking down a source for the thermostat. After endless calls to local dealers and coming up empty handed, I eventually found one at gmpartsgiant.com for $7

I digress, here'* the procedure I recall following:

1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.

2. Drain the radiator until the level is below the thermostat level (below the level of the intake manifold).

3. Remove the attaching bolts and the water outlet elbow assembly from the engine. Remove the thermostat from inside the elbow.

4. Install new thermostat in the reverse order of removal, making sure the spring side is inserted into the elbow. Clean the gasket surfaces on the water outlet elbow and the intake manifold. Use a new gasket and RTV sealer when installing the elbow to the manifold. Refill the radiator to approximately 21/2 inches below the filler neck or, if there is a coolant recovery system, fill it up all the way.



Hope this helps you out in some way

That thermostat is available at Pep Boys, Autozone, Advance Auto Parts... online, and probably in-store too.