I'm going to be replacing the water pump, belt and belt tensioner on my 2002 CR-V and am wondering if this would be a good time to replace the thermostat. I'm asking because I think the housing is plastic, not because I'm worried that the actual thermostat will stick open or closed. Are these known to fail over time? I'm not sure where it physically is on the 2.4 but I'll be working on the timing chain side and if it's on the passenger side then maybe there is no advantage to replacing it now.

Thanks in advance…

 

It's probably a good idea to replace the thermostat and lower and upper radiator hoses if you're going to replace the water pump. I did that on my 2002 Civic Si and plan to replace those components on my 2007 CR-V next week. The two cars have similar engines, and the procedure is the same, so I expect it'll be the same nine yards of hell due to very little clearance and no room to work. Probably not as bad as replacing the serpentine belt but close.

Good luck.

 

Which side of the engine is the thermostat on? Timing chain or transmission?

I didn't realize that replacing the serpentine belt was that difficult. Does anyone have any tips to share?

 

Thermostat is on the lower right front of the engine, the lower radiator hose hooks to it.

Raise the right front and take the wheel off. There's a plastic panel held on by a couple of popout plugs. Remove that, gives you access to the pulleys. When I did mine I started it on all the pulleys except the harmonic balancer, pulled the tensioner as far as I could and held it with a ratchet strap. Sprayed silicone all over the pulley and belt and was able to slide it onto the harmonic balancer using a couple of screwdrivers to stretch it. Seems backward but that's the only way I could get mine on.

I suggest before starting this job you should lock up your cutting torch, sledgehammers, and anything else that can be used to destroy a car. Believe me, you'll want to cut your Honda into little pieces before you're done!

 

Also I suggest you get a service manual. They're available on EManuals for around twenty bucks.

 

I do have an OEM paper manual which I will definitely be consulting along the way.

The belts on my 2000 CR-V weren't bad to change but this one sounds like a lot more work.

I now have two vehicles with the 2.4 so I need to learn it.

I will also be removing the balancer in order to replace the front main seal (leaking badly).

I assume this simply presses into the timing chain cover?