Replacing Thermostat in a 2011 Camaro 3.6 liter V6
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ธ.ค. 2022
- Wanted to show how to replace a faulty Thermostat in a 2011 3.6 liter V6. this will similar for the 2010-2015. This is significantly more complex than the V8 or a majority of domestic engines. Roughly 19 bolts not including hose removal. Will need 10 millimeter, 13 millimeter, 15 millimeter, ratchets, assorted plyers, screw drivers, plastic rivet removal tool, extensions, elbow extension, 13 millimeter wrench, adjustable ratchet also helpful as well as a cheater bar. This took roughly 6 hours with a decent amount of breaks but most of the time was finding the best way to do it, reassembly was inside of an hour so hopefully seeing how I did it will speed it up for you.
#thermostat #camaro #v6 #repair #howto #autorepair #gen5
They should be ashamed. This thermostat replacement is like rebuilding an engine. It's totally stupendous to place it so far out of reach. Placing a simple thermostat so unavailable is wrong unless they could guarantee it never to go bad. I wonder if that's the reason that motor has issues on that side of the block😮
I agree 💔😮💨
Great video! The step by step instructions with the precise video shots of the bolts in their hidden places was invaluable. Can’t thank you enough.
Only dude on youtube who shows how to do it. Appreciate it
Sure thing, thanks for watching
@picklesgarage I'm still trying to get the thermostat out. I felt the housing spinning a little is that bad?
Do I need to take it off and get a new seal?
@toriwilliams500 Hey, so the housing around the thermostat does spin so no issues there it makes it easier to get too. You should be fine with everything the package came with the designed it with that o ring gasket and that's all you need
@@picklesgarage thank you
Took me 30 mins to do didn’t remove the intake manifold all I did was remove the metal hose with the thermostat housing
Can you walk me through it bro I’m currently dealing with mine rn
I just did it on my 2013 it was annoying install it took my all day. To install the Thermostat I used the cardboard roll with a 1 1/4 shop vacuum extension tube for more leverage to push in a twist to set the Thermostat. Great video.
Great idea, I'm on my second day trying to get the new one in. Lol smh
This guy is great at explaining things simply and thoroughly. All videos should be this good.
Thanks your video is the best and only one showing the replacement of the new thermostat
Doing this now on my 2012 v6. That last bolt on the radiator hose. Definitely get the swivel piece you see in the video. Me and my dad spent 4 hours just on this bolt til my neighbor let us borrow his swivel ratchet and it came right off
Good video.. FYI: a laser pointer would be easier to see what bolts your pointing to.
That's a good tip. I'll see if I can add that in for future videos with out of reach bolts. Thanks for watching!
Amazing!!!!!
Insanely hard job, this took me like 4 hours with limited tools. At one point I actually couldn't shimmy the supply pipe with the housing on it out like I though I'd be able to, jacked up the passenger side so I could get up in there with one arm with an extension to break the supply pipe bolt loose, only to have to mount the housing back in place to break the tube loose. Absolute nightmare. A good 4 or 5 bolts in this job you have to get off and back in one ratchet click at a time.
Yeah still one of my least favorite repairs. It's tough without some special tools like mini ratchets but then you run into the issue of not getting enough torque on it to break things loose. Terrible set up for sure. Thanks for watching
Np, Thank you for the instructional
DAMN, this is a lot. All day with this, hours just to undo one bolt, unless you have a specific tool (regular ratchet wrench won't do, apparently). And RAINING on the weekend I had considered doing this. I think I'll just take it into the shop, damn!
Yeah its a tough one, ridiculous design sometimes the time it takes isn't worth it. Thanks for watching though!
@@picklesgarage Thank you for posting! I'm learning a lot about my car still, and this video did help. But yeah, that thermostat placement SUCKS!
I went to a shop to replace mine. They charged me a $1000 but they were nice enough to also replace the water pump.
What bolts were taken out for the thermostat itself
Thanks for this. You da real MVP🙌! Do I have to drain my coolant or could I do it it without having to?
You could probably get away without doing it. I lost maybe a quart so I just caught that and then topped it back off. If you haven't replaced yours in awhile it might just be good to do both at once but shouldn't have to
I would assume the reason for this is this motor was originally for a 2009 Buick Enclave which is Front Wheel drive. This would easy enough because the engine will be mounted sideways on the Buick but on the Camaro that it is why it is on the rear of the engine. The dealer would charge 1000 dollars to replace the thermostat on the Camaro. Another easy fix would be to sell the Camaro V6 and buy and used 2010 Camaro SS. This would NOT be a drastic decision.
Haha you know there are plenty of days I think about it. I've had this thing awhile owned free and clear. Some people flip cars easy but I'm a bit of a hoarder with them. At the very least it makes for interesting videos, the same install on the SS would take 5 min and where's the fun in that. Great info on the origin though thanks for watching
Welp, single Camaro girl/ owner of this exact model and, my goodness I have to shovel $700 to the mechanic today for this exact project😮💨💔
So I have a 2012 camaro v6 that my heater never blows hot air. It blows but not hot. I thought I would replace the theromastat to see if it helped my problem ... until I watched your video. Pretty involved. As far as I know it's not throwing any codes so not sure anymore what to do. Any ideas? It's pretty freaking cold where I live and I gotta have some heat.
Unfortunately that is the common reason for not getting hot air so it would probably be a good idea to replace the thermostat. Other reasons would be just low on coolant but I am sure you checked the levels so beyond that it's issues with the switches themselves but unlikely to blow air just not hot air in that case. It is a very involved process but it is strange you wouldn't get any codes at all. Low fluid levels and specific thermostat codes do pop up so unless it is an issue with the heater core I can't see any other solve. The issue with mine wasn't even the mechanism it was the gasket had been eaten away so yours being around the same age I would say you are likely to have this problem soon if you didn't already.
Also the blend doors break on these cars also not a cheap fix dash work
I don’t the same issue in 2018 it was my blend door actuator.
Hey. So I might have to do this on mine soon. What's the reason the inlet needs to be removed please? I don't really see why it needs to be off. 👍
It's just going to be really hard to get a hand on everything you need to remove in the back. As always I encourage people to try to make it as easy as possible but this step is pretty necessary unless you can get really creative with tools and grip. Let me know how it goes
@@picklesgarage brilliant thank you
Question my coolant temp are dropping to cold and not showing on my dash. Could it be a bad thermostat? I have Camaro 2019 v6
That can be a symptom yes. Often you will get check engine light as well but if the thermostat is stuck wide open then it's not letting the car get to operating temp. You should still see the gauge move somewhat after in town driving but it will not get to where it needs to be.
My 2011 only blows luke warm or cool car temp never gets above 180 guess its thermostat time
when i took mine for a test run my coolant temp was reading in the 250s when i believe it’s supposed to sit at 210? it’s a 2011 camaro LT. could this also resolve to the thermometer being busted?
i forgot to mention that once it hits 80mph it tells me to shut off the car due to it overheating
Yes, that is commonly a symptom. It's not the only thing that can cause it, low fluid and air pockets as well but if the thermostat is stuck open it just keeps circulating the coolant in and out of the engine which makes everything heat up faster. Or if it's stuck closed then it just heats up quickly as well. In any case you won't regret replacing these if it's not bad it will be soon at this age and it's more than likely your issue.
How did you get the housing to open up with the thermostat mine just keeps wiggling and all of the bolts are off too
Do you mean it's wiggling back and forth but the pipe won't pull up? I'd double check along the pipe to double check the brackets are all undone. The pipe should freely pull up and then the housing will rotate around the pipe
It pulls up right below the fuse box I took off the brackets and I can get my fingers on the opened gap of the thermostat housing and it just doesn’t come off when I pull up
@jorgearjona2125 Strange, I know it has the two bolts either side of the housing. I know sometimes it will be stuck from the gasket but if you can get fingers under it that wouldn't be the case. Might be that the thermostat itself is catching on something. Sorry I can't be of more help but it sounds like you removed everything so it's gotta be hooked or something.
How did you get the new thermostat in I,ve been trying to put the new thermostat in I have the old one taken out
@jorgearjona2125 If the new one came with that thick card board cylinder that's the easiest way. You line the new one up and then use the cylinder to push down the tabs by pushing your hands together and then twist so the tabs grab onto the housing. It's a big pain. If you don't have the cardboard cylinder you might get away with a C clamp as long as you dont damage anything. Hope this helps
I might as well put a supercharger on this mf since I gotta take all this apart and I might as well throw new spark plugs on here
Haha might as well.
My Camaro recently started leaking coolant and I connected and OBD reader and got the code “p1258” which is telling me I’m low on coolant and need to replace the thermostat my question is I looked under my car and saw fluid coming from out of the hose that’s connected to the thermostat I honestly think I just need and o-ring around that’s hose and I’ll be good any suggestions ?
Yeah could just be a leak, you will get an operating temperature error if it is the actual gasket on the termostate but if you are going to be back there anyway to change the gasket ring around the termostat I'd just replace it while you are there. It will go bad likely soon anyway it has the same rubber around it as the o ring for the housing and the part itself is cheap. Unless you are referring to the seal toward the front of the block but I say if you are spending a few hours on this it's best to make it the last time haha
@@picklesgarageI’m referring to the hose that goes directly into the thermostat not the skinny one but the thicker one it looks like the hose is in the thermostat but it’s looks as if the liquid is just barely seeping out
@@picklesgaragealso I do apologize for not knowing the exact names of the pipes I’m not too car savvy
@querob1135 this is a V6 right? Is the hose you are referring to metal? It wraps around the passengerside and goes to the back of the engine?
I'm stressed just looking at this
Still one of my least favorite repairs of all time. Tied with some of the repairs that didn't even make it to youtube because I gave up trying to explain how wildly I was winging something haha. Thanks for watching
If your thermostat is bad could that cause your ac compresor nit turn on. My daughters car temperature goes above normal once it started doing that the ac stop blowing cold and compressor doesn’t turn on. It was blowing cold and the next boom it stop and after that the car temperature would go up .
It can yes, it is common for there to be a noticeable change in the air temp when the car starts to overheat. Cars are also designed to work within a tempature range so when overheating they loose power and because the ac compressor is driven by the engine it will not work as it normally would. It's also a hotter environment in the engine bay so the process to cool the air is not as affective. This could also be ac specific issues in tandem with the thermostat like low freon but in any case you want to minimize overheating because it will cause permanent damage.
Damn night fall and he still at the last bolt. I went and made me a sandwich, also I am having the same issue. I am fixing mine tomorrow pray for me lol😂
Would you change the transmission fluid, filter at 94k miles on a camaro 2010 V6 LLT? I am not sure if it's been done before but car fax says it was possibly around 30k
Yeah, it's a good idea to change out at about 100k. I'd look into doing the rear differential fluid as well. It's not bad to be running with old fluid so these aren't things you need to change super often but the big mile markers(like 100k) it's a good idea to go thru everything and if you haven't changed spark plugs I'd do those as well.
honestly i do it to my car without removing no air filter hose no even intake just play around the thermostat in the small area was pain in azz but worth the pain
Lies
@504Trey how, I looking and can doing it now
my camaro is overheating, there is small overflow at the reservoir and i see steam leak at the radiator cap. does this mean the thermostat failed, no longer is opening to let the coolant flow thru the radiator
Likely these do go bad somewhat regularly. If you are getting no codes however there's a chance there is just air in the system. I don't have a video myself on it but there should be some out there and then you could rule that out
@@picklesgarage well its a 2010, 13 years old. Original owner. I squeezed the hoses for air and refilled while engine running. The reservior starts drippin coolant underneath at around 190 degrees. It doesnt make sense why its dripping coolant before reaching normal temp. If i drive it around, it will overheat, get the engine overheating warning, lots of coolant at reservior. Appears like no flow thru thermostat or no water pump
@pelochas1029 Yeah then your best bet is the thermostat. Most around this time are corroded even if the mechanism still works. It's due for a replace and hopfully that will address the issue.
Got it done. Its good now. Thanks.
@@picklesgarageI’m troubling shooting mine as the issue got worse. No coolant leaks. Oil changed. But the temps will be fine then suddenly skyrockets to the high coolant message then a second later goes back to normal. I bought a spill free funnel to try and do a burp on the radiator. I hope that helps. I also noticed when checking the radiator the other day the cap broke. Well the inside ring broke. Which of course now I can’t drive far as it overheats faster.this is my only car. So I hope when I get my radiator cap and funnel I can let the car rest and try to burp it in the morning.
Man that’s that bullshit awesome job tho bro 🤦🏾♂️ yeah I think I’m going to the shop 😩 with mines
So you didn’t have to drain the coolant?
Not completely, no. There's coolant in the tube naturally so you will lose a bit when that's removed but just what is toward the top and then you can top off when you are done. Though to make less of a mess and if your coolant hasn't been flushed before this is a good opportunity to drain the coolant when working on this. Thanks for watching
@@picklesgarage thanks. Appreciate the reply. I was gonna do this on my 2010 Camaro and was curious if I should. I think I have a timing issue. I keep getting code that says performance bank. I’ll have to have my friend check it out. He works on camaros
@gillygrylls Could also be the Ignition coils. I had nearly all of mine go out at some point or another. You can get them at a local auto parts store usually with a lifetime warranty. If you narrow down the side you will often see a code of an under performing cylinder and then you can replace that one/ones and all the spark plugs which should help/resolve
@@picklesgarage yeah exactly I was also getting random code on cylinder 4. I have the V6. Plugs were changed around Sept last year and put new coil pack on but they were cheap. I should actually replace with better quality ones. Had just went for a quick fix as I was going in a road trip. Appreciate your input. Will subscribe
@gillygrylls I appreciate it, have a good one!
Worst job ever! Pipe won’t come out so I swapped thermostats by laying flat on the engine to get some leverage. Also, stubby ratchet was a life saver on that back bolt that holds the pipe on.
Yep, it's in my top 5 for sure! I found comfort thinking about the money saved though haha. Thanks for watching
@@picklesgarage Thank you man, you have the only video out there. I watched it over and over trying to hype myself up!
Why did Chevrolet do this🥵
Someone brought up this engine was origionally designed for another car and mounted sideways in that. Still crazy they went ahead and left it alone like this but other than that it's a fun engine at least haha.
😂just lying to there wife and kids
Engineering SUCKS on lots of new cars
That it does, that's why I like sitting in the engine bay of my squarebodies.
@@picklesgarage
Same here new GF has a 2012 Camero
I'm driving 2000 F350 7.3 dually
Never a check engine light or breakdown in 280,000 except fuel pump in tank the pickup broke off and ran outa fuel at 1/4 tank lol
Car makers are crap