Well, looks like I need to replace it after the temp readings have been nearing the red mark.

Can anyone help me out?? Trying to replace my Thermostat on my 96 Civic HB.

 

follow the i beleive top hose from your radiator...where it goes into your block you'll see two bolts. take those out and your thermostat will be chillin right there. i'm not sure about your car but you might have to take out the starter to get to the bolts. good luck!

 

you may want to check and make sure your cooling fan is turning on. start it up and let it get to temp, your fan should kick on about mid way on the temp scale. thermostats arent prone to go out, not that they dont but cooling issues are usually the fan,fan relay or clogged radiator.

 

buy an oem honda thermostat and gasket...dont get anything else...also do it while your car is cold...a lot of coolant will come out....

and its the lower radiator hose follow it to the block...

you will see a neck where the hose sticks into the block...take off the 2 10mm bolts and make sure you have something to catch the coolant...

take the hose off and the thermostat should just be chillen there...you might need to get a screwdriver and pry that biatch off...

remember how it looked before it came off because you need to put it on the exact way it came off...its pretty straight forward...

make sure to refill your radiator and bleed your coolant...

also run your car with the radiator cap off to get rid of all of the hot air pockets and keep filling your radiator when the level drops...

you are going to see a lot of bubbles coming out of your radiator and dont worry thats good..just keep filling it with water..

 

Thats a good point. I didn't think of that. I'll check to see if the fan kicks on. If it does, but the needle still isn't going down, is that a thermostat issue?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nub &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you may want to check and make sure your cooling fan is turning on. start it up and let it get to temp, your fan should kick on about mid way on the temp scale. thermostats arent prone to go out, not that they dont but cooling issues are usually the fan,fan relay or clogged radiator.</TD></TR></TABLE>

you are supposed to change your thermostat every year or every other year at the longest...

 

Thanks degooser. I've actually heard conflicting facts about where my (1996 Civic HB) thermostat is exactly. Some have said follow the upper coolant hose, and others lower (the one behind and below the distributor cap).

Can anyone verify where it's at exactly so I'm not taking my car apart like a mad person!?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdm555 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thats a good point. I didn't think of that. I'll check to see if the fan kicks on. If it does, but the needle still isn't going down, is that a thermostat issue?</TD></TR></TABLE>

start cheap and work your way up...

cheap meaning t stat, radiator cap then expensive meaning headgasket and water pump...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdm555 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks degooser. I've actually heard conflicting facts about where my (1996 Civic HB) thermostat is exactly. Some have said follow the upper coolant hose, and others lower (the one behind and below the distributor cap).

Can anyone verify where it's at exactly so I'm not taking my car apart like a mad person!?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i've worked on b16's ls's gsr's d15's d16's and all of them had the t stat connected to the lower hose...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by degooser &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i've worked on b16's ls's gsr's d15's d16's and all of them had the t stat connected to the lower hose...</TD></TR></TABLE>

true..my fault. it does go from the bottom hose. and to think ijust changed mine last week. ahah. sorry for misinforming. but yeh. follow the bottom hose.

 

maby these will help.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nub &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you may want to check and make sure your cooling fan is turning on. start it up and let it get to temp, your fan should kick on about mid way on the temp scale. thermostats arent prone to go out, not that they dont but cooling issues are usually the fan,fan relay or clogged radiator.</TD></TR></TABLE>
if he is getting that high in the temprature range his thermostat is probably junk, the wax inside tends to just melt at a certain temprature so its a good idea to replace it along with whatever it takes to fix the overheating problem.

 

don't get the honda oem ones. go with a beck fail-safe thermostat for $16.99 at your local auto parts store.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by degooser &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">start cheap and work your way up...

cheap meaning t stat, radiator cap then expensive meaning headgasket and water pump...</TD></TR></TABLE>


or you could diagnose the problem correctly...

testing to see if it is your thermostat:
1. upper radiator hose will still be cool even though the engine is hot because coolant is not flowing through the engine (thermostat stuck closed)

2. car takes a long time to warm up (thermostat stuck open)

You should probably check before this if you have enough coolant, if the system is free of air, make sure you have no leaks, etc. if its the headgasket oil will probably be in your coolant. Also like said before check if the fan is coming on. And it also could be the water pump. check to see if that has been replaced last time the timing belt was.

And please, get atleast a haynes manual it tells you where the thermostat is. or goto the store and look it up...you dont even have to buy it. Hell the dealership can tell you or you can try to find it in the diagrams at hondaautomotiveparts.com