just got my first 240sx, but it has thermostat issues

[matt4pl]

the car i got is in great shape, inside and out, and so is the transmission and everything (stick), but the thermostat doesnt work, whats the deal with aftermarket thermostats, and what do they give you? would it be hard to replace it? thanks

[Silvia007]

there's really no performance gains to aftermarket... maybe perhaps they are cooler running thermostats to prevent overheating under serious and continuous autocrossing. I'd go to checkers/napa/autozone and pick up a stock thermostat.

[matt4pl]

that's good. it's only about $15 and all too. also, i forgot to ask, i have a funny plastic sounding fluttering kinda osund near the front of the engine, i think around the area of the distributor. is that maybe the timing chain or the distributor rotor?

[Silvia007]

I'd suggest taking the cap and rotor off and take a look, my guess would be it's never been changed and since it's pretty cheap, might as well pick them up with your thermostat. shouldn't cost you more then 30 bucks for thermostat, rotor and cap. if it still makes noises, then it's ur timming chain.

[matt4pl]

its a plastic like sound, so could it be the guides, and not the chain? that means its still easily salvigable, and I dont need to change the chain, which saves money and a lot of it, especially on labor

[bj180sx]

coz @ conceptz has Nissan stats for like $8

[matt4pl]

I'm probobly going to try and do the change tomorrow, but where is this thermostat? I can't find it in the manual, and the diagram on the box of the replacement doesn't help at all. also, do i need to drain out all the fluid or just some? if so, how? again, the manual really blows (the one that came with the car) thanks

[bj180sx]

follow the upper radiator hose to a water outlet, unblot 3 bolts and you are there. You will probably need to take the fan shroud and fan blade off to get to it.

[1991240xs]

you don't need to take the fan blade or shroud off, the bottom bolt is just a butthole to get to..but the shroud and fan can stay...just make sure you don't crank the car with your arm in there..lol

[matt4pl]

cool, thanks guys, i'll post how it goes and if the temp gauge functions afterwaords in a few days, depending when i get it done, is it harmful to my engine if the stat is busted, even though it's still cold here?

[bj180sx]

yeah ya do unless you want to take 5 hours trying to get the thing out.

[matt4pl]

yea, i installed the new stat, and it runs fine, there was no gasket when i took off the old part, so what gives? i put in my own gasket that i got along with the stat. it runs a big warm when i have the heating on in the car, but otherwise its fine, stays about in the middle, thanks for you help guys, and here is a tip on getting that last bolt, remove the pipe conecting to the stat metal piece, then u can move it out of the way and get a wrench under there and take it off standing by the side of the car, not the front, that's how I did mine, and it wasn't too bad

[tupac03602]

wow actually i just bought a thermostat for my car and i was wondering about this stuff thx!! i have to wait for a semi warm day to do it tho...

[matt4pl]

yea, its a huge pain in the butt to actually get that last screw out, but you do not need to remove the fan or the shroud, i just removed the intake, the upper radiator hose from the rad, and the lower one from the stat intake pipe thinger, it took me forever though, but if i had to do it again, i'd take no more than half an hour