Did the water pump and thermostat on my '09 S today. Went pretty well. The Pelican "How-To" is a good resource to follow for this. A few points of my own...
The plastic water inlet is difficult to remove. If you pull it out with your fingers, then I think you need counselling as you have some built up rage that needs an outlet!
I made a slide hammer specifically to pop out the thermostat. I had to make a quick in-the-field type modification and turn it into a puller (with a piece of maple, no less!) Anyway, I used the puller to snatch out the thermostat and intake tube at the same time.
Lastly, get yourself an Airlift tool for refilling the coolant. Holy COW!!! What a great invention. The only thing is that it is a TIGHT fit to stick it onto the reservoir. In the picture you can see the air QD. If you put a 90 degree fitting there you can make it work...it will be tight, but it will just fit. The "pro" model looks more compact and may fit better. I went with the hobbyist one because I don't flush coolant systems five times a week.
All in all, a pretty approachable job for the DIY'er. Less than six hours, including letting the engine cool off and a run to the store to grab the 90n degree fitting. I was also able to do the license plate lights and replace a piece of trim. If I wasn't doing on-the-spot tool engineering, I think I could do this in three hours.
03-17-2018, 05:15 PM
