How To:Thermostat

[Vansquish]

I recently performed ~90% of this same procedure on my girlfriend's 2007 Escape Hybrid. The 2.3L block is pretty much identical, and the thermostat is identical to ours. It's a little harder to get to things despite the larger, deeper engine bay of the Escape, but only because some of the angles of attack for the spring clamps make it harder to gain access and leverage.

It still took about 1.5 hours to perform the swap, and all is now well with the Escape!

[RalliartRsX]

Glad to hear @Vansquish!

I found smaller locking pliers were the key to these particular spring clamps. IMHO, I have found locking pliers overall are the best for spring clamps (once adjusted correctly ofcourse) and saves on a ton of energy exerted on my end. However, when the OEM decides they want to put the release portion of the spring clamp under a immovable object, I am ready to burn the car down to ashes lol.

All goes back to using the correct tools for the job. I cannot stress that enough lol

[HmoobBoi]

Thank you very much for the post Mach...easy guide to follow..the only pain in the ass was the clamps besides that easy pezy

[Trinity]

First: thanks so much for the write-up & roadmap on how to do this removal/install.

It's been forever since I've been on but I just got the P01206 engine light/code the other night on the ride home from work. I called my local stealership to ask a quote on replacing the thermostat and got the standard "we can't give a quote because we need to diagnose it and see if blah blah blah" runaround.

I'm nervous about doing this myself but I think I can get it done. Wanted to ask a couple questions:
1. Is there any way to get all the coolant out prior to removing the Thermostat? I've seen a few vids of people doing the install on youtube and it's always on a non-speed 3 & when they finally get the thermostat off there's a good amount of coolant that comes splashing out (theirs is above the alternator) is it the same with the Speed3? Can you loosen any of the other lower hoses carrying coolant to help drain the rest out?

2. I've never messed with the power steering pump before on any car but from the write up it seems once the belt is off it's easy enough to relocate it out of the way. Is there really enough slack in the hoses to do this without worry?

3. Has anyone else replace the coolant temp sensor along with doing the thermostat or in a separate step? I assume it would be smartest to do both at the same time while coolant is drained. I can't find a good picture of where the ECTS is on the speed 3.

[HmoobBoi]

Originally Posted by Trinity First: thanks so much for the write-up & roadmap on how to do this removal/install. It's been forever since I've been on but I just got the P01206 engine light/code the other night on the ride home from work. I called my local stealership to ask a quote on replacing the thermostat and got the standard "we can't give a quote because we need to diagnose it and see if blah blah blah" runaround. I'm nervous about doing this myself but I think I can get it done. Wanted to ask a couple questions: 1. Is there any way to get all the coolant out prior to removing the Thermostat? I've seen a few vids of people doing the install on youtube and it's always on a non-speed 3 & when they finally get the thermostat off there's a good amount of coolant that comes splashing out (theirs is above the alternator) is it the same with the Speed3? Can you loosen any of the other lower hoses carrying coolant to help drain the rest out? 2. I've never messed with the power steering pump before on any car but from the write up it seems once the belt is off it's easy enough to relocate it out of the way. Is there really enough slack in the hoses to do this without worry? 3. Has anyone else replace the coolant temp sensor along with doing the thermostat or in a separate step? I assume it would be smartest to do both at the same time while coolant is drained. I can't find a good picture of where the ECTS is on the speed 3.

To flush the coolant, there's a plastic screw (you can't miss it) at the bottom right of the fan...unscrew that till the screw comes off...

Once you've released the belt tension, it's easier to get the power steering out of the way but first off, make sure your belt is tied to something so it's not so lose as to where you don't know how to put it back it on..only hard part is the screws holding the power steering

In order to get to the ECTS, you'll have to remove your intake, perhaps maybe your TIP also unless your hands small enough to fit through..I've replaced both at once, making it much easier than doing it later in the long run...

[Trinity]

Originally Posted by HmoobBoi To flush the coolant, there's a plastic screw (you can't miss it) at the bottom right of the fan...unscrew that till the screw comes off... Once you've released the belt tension, it's easier to get the power steering out of the way but first off, make sure your belt is tied to something so it's not so lose as to where you don't know how to put it back it on..only hard part is the screws holding the power steering In order to get to the ECTS, you'll have to remove your intake, perhaps maybe your TIP also unless your hands small enough to fit through..I've replaced both at once, making it much easier than doing it later in the long run...

Many thanks. I'm aware of the draining/flushing of the coolant but my question was how much of the fluid stays in the system or does all of if come out via the radiator. I've seen a few videos of people doing this DIY in a regular Mazda 3 and when they finally remove the Thermostat a bunch more coolant comes flooding out even though they drained it. Wasn't sure if it was the same with the Speed 3 since the engines are different.

Thanks in advance.

[HmoobBoi]

Originally Posted by Trinity Many thanks. I'm aware of the draining/flushing of the coolant but my question was how much of the fluid stays in the system or does all of if come out via the radiator. I've seen a few videos of people doing this DIY in a regular Mazda 3 and when they finally remove the Thermostat a bunch more coolant comes flooding out even though they drained it. Wasn't sure if it was the same with the Speed 3 since the engines are different. Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure how much fluid you have but when i flushed my coolant there were tons of fluid...so before hand, just let the coolant continue flushing, no need to rush to get to the thermostat...when removing the thermostat, get like one or two towel rag and let it sit right under the thermostat when removing..engines are somewhat similar but also different in ways...FYI you might use up one whole gallon of coolant

[Bugeye60]

Excellent write-up by mach69! Today I replaced the thermostat on my 08 ms3 (99,300 miles), flushed the system and replaced with FL22 coolant. All went well by following his instructions. About the only thing I did differently was to remove the two hoses before removing the thermostat.

Removing/installing the serpentine belt from the power steering pump by pulling on the tensioner was tough since there's not much room to do so, but I got it done. I don't know how anyone could remove the thermostat without removing the power steering pump, just because there's so little room to work in that vicinity with the pump there.

[Mazd1222]

thermostat replacement on the speed 6. When you drain the coolant from the radiator. You said that your refilling the overflow tank. My car does have a radiator cap so do I refill the radiator as well or just the overflow tank? Also do you need to burp the system if so how do you go about doing that on this car?

[Fstrnyou]

When it's all back together, I fill the radiator, start the car with the rad cap off, add coolant to radiator as needed until it won't take any more. Install rad cap. Go for short drive around the neighborhood. Turn off engine. Once cooled down a bit, remove rad cap and top off with coolant. Verify overflow tank is at proper level. Should be good to go. Recheck overflow tank before each cold start to make sure it's not below the MIN line. If it's good and stable, send it.

[Jeff23spl]

THis ^^^ plus i lift the front of the car higher than the back at time of filling it with the car iddling. It let air pocket to escape faster.