This was a fantastic video for this. Really detailed, showed every bit and piece. Really deserves more likes cuz most videos skip certain parts like putting things back on or not really getting in there and showing what their doing. Thank you for the great video!
Awesome video first off. 👌 I'm about to also change the thermostat and housing on my avenger. Definitely seems to be a common issue on these cars. New housing came with a lifetime warrantee, so hopefully that means the manufacturer solved the issue. Im Currious to see how similar the mileage is on all of these vehicles getting repaired. Thanks for the video, huge help.
Had my thermostat housing unit replaced last February (2022) at a Midas. Took my car in to have the battery replaced at a Meineke and it's leaking coolant again. Ordered the parts online via Amazon for about $50-65 (purchased an extra sensor just in case a break it) and I'm just going to replace it myself this time. They were going to charge me like $600 to have it replaced. Midas had charged me around $400 last February.... It's a 2013 Dodge Avenger SXT 2.4 btw.
@@FundamentalistChristian Wow! $400 - $600 that is incredible! I think that you will be nicely surprised at how straight forward this job is. Please let me know how the job comes out! I am interested in your time and cost savings. Good luck!
@@jardinautoworks Okay I plan on doing it within the next week. I'll let you know. I've watched several videos and it seems very easy. I already have the parts..... Update: Everything turned out fine. Super easy.
I changed it myself. It took about 45 minutes and that's only because I had some difficulty getting the hoses off. 🤦🏾♀️🤣. Other than that, it was so easy. By the way, I learned the hard way that you don't have to remove the filter box bolts. Just put the box up and it should come out.
Those clamps are good to throw in the trash. 👍👍. I have done this job without removing the back hoses. Once you remove the screws, including the one hiding at the bottom. You have total access to both thermostats.
I don't disagree about the clamps. And, yes access to both thermostats does not require removing the heater hoses on the rear of the housing assembly. I removed and replaced the housing completly because the leak was severe and I was not going to take any chances with possible cracks in the plastic housing in a place I could not see. All good information. Thank you so much for watching.
This video is greatly appreciated. I’ve been having overheating for a lil while in and off I don’t know what the problem is I don’t see any leaks. I’m assuming it’s gotta be something with the thermostat I had it changed back in November n it overheated in March got it checked they said nothing was wrong just needed a gallon and a half of coolant. But it’s overheating again ima have to do it myself
Which thermostat did you replace? Primary (housing at the of the end of the lower radiator hose) or secondary (under thermostat housing assembly against cylinder head)? Did you find the issue? What did you find? I'm interested. Thank you very much for watching my video! I really appreciate it.
@@DeeFolarin410 Yeah you probably replaced the primary thermostat located on the outer thermostat housing assembly where the lower radiator hose connects. Let me know when you find the issue. I am interested.
I noticed you didn't torque the fasteners when putting the new housing unit back on. Maybe not too important? I think I'll play it safe and torque them to 159in I think one guy said for the Avenger models later than 2010. I'll have to get proper info on that before I torque them.
Yes please double check your manual and see the number for yourself. The Hayes Manual says that the 2010 and earlier 2.4 engine primary thermostat torque spec is 79 in-lbs; the 2011 and later 2.4 engine primary thermostat torque spec is 159 in-lbs; and, the secondary thermostat, according to the Hayes Manual (the thermostat housing assembly), torque specs for the 3 mounting bolts is 159 in-lbs. Thank you for watching. I really appreciate it.
good video, I been having leaks thought it was the small thermosatt that the rubber seal did not seem good enough on to the block, bu come to find out it looks like its the housing itself, the whole unit is just warped slightly and im just going to replace it all with new thermostats and also the rubber seal in the back, the petrolium jelly will not hurt it in the long run??
Thank you for your comments. I did start with the radiator petcock. After my experience in making a mess, as you saw, it appears that there was something blocking the drain. Because, when I loosened the petcock coolant was free flow so I let it drain till it slowed then re-tightened the petcock so that I would not forget to do it later. Evidently, it only drained 1/2 the radiator. Therefore, the mess when pulling the lower radiator hose. Thank you very much for watching my video. I really appreciate it.
Great video and super informative I just discovered my 2013 is leaking. I have one question did you reuse your thermostats or replace them? Also the coolant tube O ring at 12:38 was that included in you Thermostat housing purchase or did you have to order that ring separate?
I replaced them. While you have the housing apart there is no easier time:) Thank you very much for watching. Good luck on your project. Let me know how you come out. I'm interested.
I have a question about the radiator drain plug I had to drain it cuz previous owner was told green coolant should go in. Anyway in the process I twisted the drain plug but the plug came out and now that I’m twisting it back on it seems to leak from the drip whole. Do I need new gaskets on the plug or maybe push it harder in ?
If the drain plug bottoms out and it still leaks, check the o-ring on the plug itself. Make sure that it is not gouged or twisted. Also check the plug Make sure that the threads are not messed up or that the plug is cracked. If everything okay you may want to change the O-ring. O-rings are cheap and even if you just replaced it just because, that would get rid of one of the possible problems. If o-ring looks okay, look inside the hole where the plug goes with a mirror to make sure that there is nothing in there that can make it not seal. When going back together make sure that the o-ring is well lubricated. A dry o-ring can be an issue with it catching on the sides of the hole and then twisting/binding as you're trying to tighten the plug. Let me know what fixed your problem. I'm interested. Thank you for watching the video.
So i think have the same issue. My car was smoking (white smoke under hood) now it only smokes when heat is turned on. I had just had the thermostats replaced so i believe now that i saw ur video it could be the housing. What kit did u buy? I figured just to be on the safe side replace the thermostats again.
@@royal_vita5329 it ended up being the housing thermostat. It melted really bad so it was just spilling coolant everywhere. Now she runs beautifully thanks to this guys video!! Did it myself just watching the video. I had to repkace the battery as well.
You can just replace the seals and thermostats. Make sure to inspect the plastic housing for cracks. I replaced the entire housing because the housing came with the seals and thermostats and my customer was moving to another state where I could not fix it if something went wrong. It was also cost effective for me. If you have time and you are scheduling a weekend to work on your car, check the autoparts websites. I saw good deals that may make it worth your while as well. Good luck. Let me know how you come out. Did you do just the seals, or did you replace the entire unit? Thank you for watching! I really appreciate it.
The o'rings will go on the metal coolant tube at the back of the motor @ 12:09 and the coolant temperature sensor @ 13:06. Make sure that your housing has all of the seals in their respective positions, there is a seal on the housing for a water port and the thermostat with its seal. The thermostat and water port seals rest against the cylinder head and the oring seals the water port in the thermostat housing assembly. Good luck with your project. Thank you very much for watching my video. Let me know how you come out. I'm interested.
Filling the system with coolant, I let the system gravity purge the air from the system. Once the air bubbles slowed/stopped, I made sure there was coolant in the reservoir, held the palm of my hand over the fill port tightly to close the system and squeezed the upper radiator hose to force as many remaining air pockets into the reservoir. Then I released the upper radiator hose and allowed the system to pull coolant from the reservoir to try and minimize the possibility of air pockets trapped in the cooling system. I squeezed the hose several times until it felt like it was just pulling coolant with each squeeze and release. Topped off the radiator and reservoir, replaced the radiator cap, started the vehicle, checked for leaks, watched the temp gauge carfully, and made sure the cooling fan(s) came on. Hopefully, that helps. Please let me know how you do. I am interested in your process. Thank you for watching! I really appreciate it!
For anyone that has a 2010. My temp sensor had a different type rubber o ring. I thought the new one didnt work, and tried to reuse my o-ring. DONT DO THAT. Use the O ring that came with the housing. It will work.
Thank you for your comment. I did not have a vapor lock, or any symptoms of that after the job. With the vehicle on a slight incline with the nose of the car higher than the rear, I filled the radiator full, filled the reservoir to the proper level, placed my hand over the radiator opening to create a seal, squeezed and released the upper radiator hose several times letting the trapped air enter the reservoir then pulling coolant back into the system until it was just coolant being pushed to, and pulled from the reservoir. Once completed, I replaced the radiator cap and filled the reservoir back to proper level, THEN started the car and let it warm up. Thank you very much for watching my video, I really appreciate it.
@@victorotero3244 Sorry for the delay. Hopefully you got what you needed. But for stuck o'rings you might try using a small pick set to try and get behind/underneath the seal. Let me know how you removed the seal. I am interested to hear about your solution. Thank you very much for watching. Hopefully the video was helpful.
Sorry for the delay. At 12:33 in the video I start putting the thermostat housing assembly back together and the o-rings and seals are talked about. There is an o-ring seal on the coolant tube on the rear of the motor, there is a seal that should be seated in a groove on the housing assembly (this seals the water port on the cylinder head), and then the thermostat should have its seal around the edge of the thermostat. The thermostat should be seated fully into the housing assembly. If you have all of those seals and o-rings in place, make sure all your mounting bolts are tight (torqued to manufacturers specs). If all of that is ok, unfortunately you need to look at the housing for cracks in the plastic. Hopefully, this is an easy fix for you and it is not the housing assembly. Good luck my friend. Let me know what you find when you do the job. If you have already done it, what did you find as the issue? Thank you very much for watching my video! I really appreciate it.
Thank you for the comments. You are right. Much of the stuff I took out was so that I could get a better camera shot. But with the size of my hands and arms I thought it was a little easier to get into the places I needed to get to 😁 Thank you very much for watching my video. I really appreciate it.
I just changed mine with new housing and brand new thermostats and now my car runs cold and not at normal operating temperature.. what's the odds one of the thermostats is faulty?
It is rare, but possible. That is a bummer. I am very sorry that your car is not working correctly. If you have to open your work back up, a stuck or broken thermostat will be obvious because the restriction plate, above the sping, will not be seated, or will not be seated correctly. If the restriction plate appears to be seated the spring itself may not be doing its job. In any case, if you have to open your work, replace the thermostat and its seal. It is relatively inexpensive and a way to try and eliminate one possibliity. This may not be a thing, but double check your temperature sending unit on top of the assembly and make sure the connector is seated correctly and/or that the sending unit is 'sending' properly. Let me know what you find. I am interested.
@@robertmencl9169 rest assured my friend you are not the only one to do this! I have redone numerous jobs early in my career because of stuff like that. BUT, I am really glad that you were able to figure it out. Hopefully, everything is working ok now. Thank you for the update.
How did u know what O rings to buy? Or size? I have leaks everywhere like you as well. I have code p0128 and I believe the thermostat may be broken as well.i want to change the housing as well just to be safe cause that's a lot of work to take off and find out it's still leaking.... Another quick question does your heater work at all?
I bought the full assembly. The assembly came with the thermostat and the o'rings necessary for the metal tube at the rear of the motor and the temperature sensor. So there was no searching for the right o'ring kit. The Thermostat housing assembly that I bought is a Dorman part number 902-319. You can get this part on Amazon for about $55. If you have a low coolant level you may not have any heat coming out of your heater. The owner of the car indicated that there was little or no heat, but when he added coolant he had heat until the coolant leaked out. Once the thermostat housing was replaced/leaks fixed and coolant topped off, the heater was working consistently.
Thank you for inquiry. I changed the housing because I did not know if I had a crack in the original or not. Because the housing is plastic, I was not going to take the chance. There appeared to be leaks coming from many places and the housing I ordered was complete and came with the seals and the thermostat. So, I knew that I was going to be going back together with a unit I did not have to worry about. Did you just change the seals and thermostat? Did that work ok for you? How much did your seal kit cost? Thank you again for watching. I really appreciate it.
@@jardinautoworks I haven't changed it yet but I'm about to here soon, I think I have a small leak in the housing but not sure where at on it, but I'm just gonna buy the whole housing kit and replace it, mine Is a 2010 dodge avenger sxt
@@tevo4203 it is my opinion that replacing the housing is the way to go. That way you do not have to worry about possible hairline cracks in the old plastic housing and the new assembly, Dorman part number 902-319, came with the new orings and seals needed to put everything back together. Let me know how you did. How long did it take you? Did you run into issues? Good luck. Thank you very much for watching. I really appreciate it.
I am sorry about that. If you double check and find that the sensor is fully seated and the plastic keeper clicked into place, it may be the oring on the sensor was twisted or ripped on installation.
I damaged the bottom of my air box trying to get to the rear 8mm only to find out that those two bolts are only studs for the rubber bushings to fit on. They do not have to come out. Why did you not mention that in your video?
I am very sorry to hear about that. You are correct the bottom of the air box does not have to come out. I took mine out to show how much access could be available to remove the housing without having to fight taking the radiator hoses off the housing. It also allowed a straight video shot at the thermostat housing while I was disassembling and reassembling the unit. Hopefully the other parts of the video were helpful to you. Thank you for watching. I really appreciate it.
There are many different color coolants and each are designed to do different things. You will want to check your owners manual to ensure that the coolant you are using is compatible with your engine. Mixing of coolants can reduce the life of the coolants, they can react with eachother and make the coolant less efficient, etc. So, be careful. Always start with your owners manual to check for compatability.
I am very sorry about that. Hopefully, everything comes out ok. Does the $500 include the labor, housing, new o'rings (of course), both the primary and secondary thermostat and the temperature sensor? Sorry, I am just interested in what you get at that price. What kind of warranty do they give you? Good luck to you my friend. Thank you very much for your comment and watching my video. I really appreciate it!
Yes, some coolant was drained. But as you can tell from parts of the video, I did not drain enough. At the end I put about a gallon of coolant in the radiator.
