I went to replace my thermostat on my car earlier and, when I pulled the thermostat housing off I noticed that there was no thermostat to begin with. So for the last three years that I have owned this car I have been driving it without a thermostat. The only reason I could see that there was no thermostat is because on the inside of the thermostat houseing where the thermostat itself fits is broken. So I just put the housing back on with a new gasket. The car has always heated up to 195 and stayed there. That is why I never knew there was not a thermostat because from what I understand Cavalier's run at 195 to begin with. So here is my question, should I go to a junkyard and buy a new thermostat housing and get a thermostat or is running it the way it is not going to hurt it? As far as I know the car has been running fine for at least three or more years now without one and has always ran at 195 degrees. Answers on this would be great thanks ahead of time for your help.
My car has two speeds, fast and faster.
Oh, and if you all needed to know I have a 1997 Z24 auto.
My car has two speeds, fast and faster.
You know what, i was in the same situation as you!! believe it or not. I WAS having problems with my car overheating so i was gonna change my thermostat and a guy told me it was located on the left side of the engine looking from the hood with the waterpump and fan belt and stuff were,...so i took off the the two bolts and bada bing bada boom there was nothing there, "im like what the hell" so i looked over to the rite side of the engine and saw there was another slot where the theremostat might be (rite side looking from the front of the engine) and waa laa, i found the theremostat, its rite were the temp sensor is. If your car is a 2.2 then it might be there but i dont know if depending on year if they changed them but thats were i found mine!!
Lonnie: You were having problems because the thermostat was on the wrong end. It will fit there. There should be a sticker on the engine that say "no thermostat here, should be on other end" (same basic idea anyway).
Jspec: The thermostat is on the back side of the engine, by the water pump and is a total pita to get to. Are you looking at the right spot? You're probably looking at the water neck, which is NOT where the therostat goes.
The car would not heat up to 195F, if there was no t-stat, period.
You have one you just have no clue where it is.
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
Ok I'm going to look at the back of the engine for it.
My car has two speeds, fast and faster.
The spot I was looking at is on the left side of the engine, left of the OPS, it has 2 holts holding it on. When I took it off it looked like it used to have a spot where a thermostat would fit. But if that is not where the thermostat is on the 2.4 then I'll go with what CTS said and check the back of the engine.
And Rob S. That is what I figured if I did not have a thermostat then there is no way I would be getting to 195 and staying there.
My car has two speeds, fast and faster.
I find this question alot themos are needed they help the car to keep the engine near or close to spec temps your car starts in a open loop by the computer then at warm up temps go's to a closed loop depending where you live and the outside air temp I.E. northern canada 30 below freezing you car isn't going to warm up for awhile and run like crap gas, oil, and all
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/4235/jim25ek.jpg
What happens if I take it off ,and how do I seal it if I do?
On the 2.4L, the thermostat is located at the water pump. In order to access it, you have to remove the timing chain cover, timing chain, and probably part of the manifold. It's a big pain-in-the-butt (3-4 hour) job to get to the thermostat & water-pump and to put everything back together. (An if you screw up the camshaft positioning when you put the timing chain back on, you'll destroy your valves. It's one of the few jobs that I won't attempt to tackle as a DIYer. The job is so difficult that a professional mechanic once refused to replace my water pump!) So the next time that your water pump breaks, be sure to replace your thermostat, seal, timing-chain-tensioner, and timing-chain-cover gasket.
If your thermostat weren't installed and working properly, I don't think the car would work very well because the computer wouldn't properly divert the coolant based on the temperature at the thermostat.
The coolant temperature sensor is a different (essential) part that is easy to access. It's different than the thermostat.
HUH odd I always used a long extension, swivel and socket, with car raised up and dropped housing down, swapped tstat and seal and reinstalled, never pulled timing cover at all?
ERNEST Abel wrote:HUH odd I always used a long extension, swivel and socket, with car raised up and dropped housing down, swapped tstat and seal and reinstalled, never pulled timing cover at all?
I stand corrected. I've never replaced the thermostat. There are some YouTube videos showing how to do it and you're right that you don't need to remove the timing chain housing. I can now see that my mechanic was saying that when you replace the water pump, you might as well replace the thermostat because you end up exposing the thermostat and draining the coolant anyway (which is 90% of the work required to replace the thermostat).
