seized thermostat

Post Tue Jul 21, 2015 5:05 pm

thermostat wont budge any ideas as to getting the bugger out”¦got a new one ready to go in so i dont mind breaking this one but i dont wanna mess anything else up”¦

any advice appreciated cheers!

Post Tue Jul 21, 2015 11:52 pm

Difficult to see how a thermostat can put up much resistance to being removed once it's exposed.
1) What car do you have? Crystal ball is still not repaired.
2) Are you sure you mean the thermostat and not its housing?
3) M40 water pumps can take strong root. Do you mean this?

Post Wed Jul 22, 2015 12:40 am

I got a prefacelift 325i..the thermostat housing with the coolant bleed screw on top and the 3 bolts came off ok.. The o ring for the thermostat came off ok but the actual thermostat wont budge is there any more bolts that im missing?

Post Wed Jul 22, 2015 12:48 pm

Post Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:04 pm

Wow thats one rusty thermostat. Spray some wd40 all around the edge. Lay a flathead screwdriver againts the edge of the centre flat metal and lightly tap with a hammer against the screwdriver like your trying to unscrew it. Hopefully it will shock it free so you can pry it off carefully not damaging the housing.

Post Wed Jul 22, 2015 4:08 pm

I left it to soak in wd40 over night gave it some proper taps of the hammer still wont budge

Post Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:49 pm

It's little more than just sitting there. Feed the end of a large flat blade screwdriver under the bridge piece, force the tip down past the valve then just lever down on it.
With the amount of rust in that system, you may want to unscrew the 19mm drain plug underneath no. 6 exhaust port, and thoroughly flush out the block.