Drain the coolant.First take the top off, the part that screws down to
actually hold the thermostat. When I bought my replacement bodies,
they never came with this top, which you can leave connected to the
hose it's on. Once this is removed you can get at the body from under
the car after you remove the two sensors by pulling out the clips.
They come right out. Be sure to mind where they came from and it's a
good idea to lubricate and replace the o-rings on them. From there,
you remove the long bolts from the "back" (toward the front of the
car) of the engine with an allen socket. I think there is an o-ring
under the housing. It shouldn't take very long, but often does because
of the condition of the fasteners.

On my daughter's vanagon, the bolt heads were so messed up that one of
the allen sockets stripped. I had to go out and buy one of those
extractor sets that has a reverse spiral in it that grips the fastener
more the harder you torque it. That worked great. I have seen cases
where the screws holding the top on the assembly were the real
problems, too, so be ready for that.

As Scott says, treat the threads right and you will have no trouble in
the future.

Jim

On Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 7:57 AM, Danny Bean <dannybean@me.com> wrote:
> Sorry about that I should have added that I have an 87 2.1L.
>
> Daniel Bean
> 615.973.4942
>
> On Oct 13, 2010, at 11:46 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
>
>> one could say which vanagon one is talking about, since diesel vanagons, 1.9 waterboxer ones, and 2.1 wbxr ones all have different t-stat housings.
>>
>> it's probably not diesel.
>> the 1.9 can be darn difficult if things are badly corroded..
>> and same for 2.1 t-stat housings ....sometimes screws on those are badly corroded too.
>>
>> might as well say which version of vanagon t-stat housing it's about.
>>
>> how about ,
>> do careful work,
>> don't break anything,
>> and especially, put something on all fastener threads ..
>> Teflon paste, gasket sealer, or anti-seize �compound. ..
>> so they don't corrode much, and come out years later just fine.
>>
>> very few threaded fasteners should be installed bare metal to metal.
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Danny Bean" <dannybean@ME.COM>
>> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 9:29 PM
>> Subject: Thermostat housing
>>
>>
>>> Well my thermostat housing is cracked and I'm changing it as soon as I get my new one from Van Cafe. So I was wondering if anyone has any tips or advise on changing the housing...I know you do Peter.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Daniel Bean
>>> 615.973.4942
>>
>