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Old 18th October 2009, 13:17   #1
Mr Edd
From the Horses Mouth
 
2012 Honda Oddessay and 1996 Ford Ranger Truck (Splash)

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Default Metal Thermostat Installed

Fitting the Metal Thermostat
I have owned a Rover 75 for the last 6.5 years. A car I love and wish to continue owning for some time to come. I keep the car in good service and well maintained. I joined the MG Rover forum back in 2007 and have learned quite a bit about keeping my car on the road and in a serviceable condition.

One of the common faults with any car is design failures which don't appear until the car has gone through a few years of service. One such failure on the R75 V6 engines is the plastic thermostat that MGR used. These plastic thermostat housings by nature have a joint which is glued at time of manufacture and is not intended to be a serviceable part. A typical throw away and replace spare part similar to most car manufacturers. It doesn't happen to all of the thermostats but is common enough in the MGR cars to designate it as a common failing component and should be regarded as suspect.

Because of this constant failure there have been numerous attempts to find a solution. One such was created by Kaiser who is a regular contributor to the MGR forums. He designed and built a metal copy of the thermostat which he sells to members of both MGR Forums Including the MG Rover Club (Read this thread for how the product was developed.) Send a PM to Kaiser if you want one.

I purchased one of these metal thermostat from Kaiser in South Africa. It cost me 90 Euros (approximately £84 at time of purchase) It took some time to arrive but I think that was because of the postal strikes at the time (July to September 2009). So if you need one in a hurry you may have to negotiate a quicker delivery system.

Not being the least bit mechanically inclined I decided to get a professional to fit it for me. Dr Dave from the MG Rover forum kindly volunteered so arrangements were made and a plan devised for me to go to his place in Somerset for the work to be done.

First lets take a look at the product itself.

This is what came out of the packaging... (Please note I have numbered all the images for quick reference if needed)

#1

#2

#3

Everything is there although I may suggest that you get new Jubilee clips to replace the hose clips used by MGR. This is a precaution as the old clips may have deteriorated with age. There is a lengthy discussion on this in the above links.

On arriving at Dr Dave's he immediately started to dismantle my engine. It never ceases to amaze me when watching people who know what they are doing - do their thing. Within minutes my poor car looked very sad and broken. But never fear Dr Dave knows what is what when pulling your dearly beloved apart. I can guarantee that there was no bits or screws or bolts left over when the work was complete. (Except for the old plastic thermostat and pipes.)

#4


#5


The above picture show the old plastic thermostat insitu. Now I have to say that there was no problems with my plastic thermostat. I was probably one of the lucky ones whose thermostat was okay, however, I had noticed a small pink stain at the bottom of the "V" of the engine although I didn't have any considerable coolant loss. More about this later.

#6

In the above picture Dr Dave is pointing at what he called a Knocking Sensor. I am not sure what this is all about and I am sure he will tell us later in the thread. However, it did bring to mind one occasion when the good wife and myself were staying in a hotel in Paris and we heard some very interesting sensual knocking going on through the paper thin walls to the room next door. But I digress.

#7

The above image is of Dr Dave removing the bent pipe; it's facsimile can be seen in the earlier photos. He tells me that it is impossible to remove this bent pipe without breaking it. So we were at the point of no return. If you are doing this yourself then you have to decide are you willing to go for it??? Hopefully this little article will encourage you to continue. See the broken bent pipe below.

#8


#9

Above shows the removal of the clips holding the hose pipes onto the thermostat. These are the ones you may wish to consider replacing with jubilee clips.

#10

Levering the thermostat housing out of the engine block. (Perhaps Dr Dave could clarify any of these operations if I get them wrong.)

#11

The thermostat after removal. You can see the pink gunk around the smaller pipe. My guessing is this was the source of the pink staining I had observed in the "V" of the engine. Again reiterating that perhaps replacing the old clips with jubilee clips could save a lot of heartache. On inspection there appears to be no problems with the plastic thermostat housing, not even any beginnings of an issue with the joint, which is blamed for all the failures. There again I may have been one of the lucky ones whose plastic thermostat was going to be okay for the life of the car. I wasn't prepared to take that risk.

The next series of images I can't explain so perhaps Dr Dave could step in and tell us what he is doing. (Perhaps note the image number and make comment so that I can copy and paste into the appropriate place... Or because you are a MOD you can do it yourself?)

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#19


#20


#21


#22


#23


#24


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#26

In the above image you can see the O ring sealer he used prior to installing the new pipes. (Dunno what this stuff is called)

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#29

Again you can plainly see the old MGR clips used for fixing the pipes. These are the ones that you may consider replacing with jubilee clips. (Any thoughts Dr Dave?)

#30


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#34

Now it is all back together and running sweetly.

#35

Before setting off to Dr Dave's I reset the trip metre etc. and the above and below stats shows the MPG for the distance covered.

#36


All-in-all a very pleasant experience. I now only have a few small things to do on the car and she will be almost as good as new. She should do me for a while to come anyway.

Edd

Last edited by Mr Edd; 13th February 2010 at 13:55..
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