Your VVTi engine, as with all of their kind, need to work at a certain temperature to be efficient, not too low, not too high, just around 90 degrees Celsius.
When the engine is cold, the thermostat closes the cooling system circuit from the radiator so that the engine will heat faster. Then, when the temperature rises enough, the thermostat will open, letting the cooling fluid to go through the radiator. Now you understand that this little part is very important and needs to be checked and replaced if the engine heats too slow or too much.
Replacing it on a 1.6-liter VVTi engine is pretty difficult, as the thermostat itself is located very close to the water pump, and that is under the intake manifold. So, if you don’t like contortionism, you’d better start to remove the intake manifold first.
After you removed the intake, you’ll see a rubber hose connecting to a nozzle that is held with two 10 mm nuts. So all you need to do now is grab a 10 mm socket ratchet, remove the nuts and the nozzle, ant there is the thermostat. If you want to check if it’s working, put it in boiled water. If the valve is not opening, then it’s busted.
Check the video bellow for more details.
This is a DIY guide and, as such, you must be aware the procedures described here involve some risks. autoevolution cannot be held responsible for any possible damage that might result while following this guide.
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