Ok guys, I'm so lost. I've read through everything I could find and have had no luck. I've got an early model 944, so the thermostat is a PITA from what I've read. I need a more complete guide, all the ones I've read just say "Ok, now take out the snap ring. Then take out the thermostat." Well, I can't get the snap ring out...hell, I can't even SEE the snap ring. If anybody can point me in the right direction, give me some tips, pictures, tell me what tools to use/make, I'd REALLY appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

 

Mirrors are great... snap ring is HUGE...it's really a PITA... I did one recently...OMG I wanted to poke my eyes out with the snap ring pliers...

but because of the sheer size of the snap ring, it makes it incredibly difficult to compress it enough to slide it out. if you take a mirror and view the inside of the water pump, you'll note the snap ring is around the outside, deep in there... there is a pretty deep ravine (shall we say) that you need to get it out of, and for that you need to compress the snap ring... which I've discussed above... make sure to get some REALLY STRONG snap ring pliers... you'll thank me later.

 

Step #1 - pry at the thermostat with the biggest screwdriver you got.

One of 2 things will happen - the thermostat comes out with the snap ring and you do a victory dance or the thermostat breaks and you get nowhere.

Step #2 - pry the snap ring itself with a small screwdriver to try to get it started. Feel with your finger where the ends of the snapring are. It is recessed in a ridge inside the waterpump and once its starts you can pry it out completely with the screwdriver.

Installation is the reverse of removal.

Good luck.

 

Should I be doing this from under the car or above it?

 

I had the best luck from above. AutoZone has a snap ring tool with different tips it was aroud $15 and it helped me get mine out. good luck

 

Try from above and below. Definitely jack the car up (you have to anyways to drain the coolant as nearly all of it will come out). The problem with snaprings is people dont always put them in without thinking about how they're going to take them out next time. It can be positioned in such a way so that no set of pliers will ever fit.

When you put the snapring in, remember to either have the ends facing directly up or down.

 

There's one very serious issue with the snap ring. Before doing the thermostat yourself, pray to God that nobody installed the snap ring on the very inside of the water pump jacket, before the thermostat. You will have to remove the water pump to get to it.

 

What do you mean? The snapring should be in the recessed portion of the waterpump. How else would you install it?

 

My pump had it installed on the inside of the waterpump not the outside. My mechanic was ready to have a **** fit at whoever did the pump before he got his hands on it.

 

I guess I don't understand. If the ring is installed first, then the thermostat, then nothing is holding it in the pump, and it will fall towards the forward (hose)side of port. Sorry, it doesn't make any sense. It really can only go one way, and that would be after the thermostat is installed against the shoulder inside. Am I missing something here.

 

SOOOOO I freaking mess around for about two hours total trying to get this damn thermostat out. I finally figure I'll just take it to a shop, since I'm having no luck whatsoever. My dad then decides to give it a whirl (no, I'm not some idiot who has their dad do everything). He messes around with it for 20 minutes, and then says the same thing. Then he says "Ok, one last time and then I'm going in." And low and behold, he gets the thing out. I couldn't believe my eyes. We take about another 30 minutes cleaning the ring and gasket and installing the new thermostat, and then I reconnect the hoses and refill the coolant system. I'm all excited and jump in right away, and about 5 minutes into my nice Saturday afternoon drive the guage is just past the third bar and still climbing. I go back, put some more coolant in (since it had to get going through the system) and then I thought maybe it would be fine. Nope. No luck. I checked the oil level, and that's fine. Any ideas on what to do now? Is there an air bubble in the cooling system, or what? I'm so lost, and I'm in the middle of trying to sell the car.

 

Everytime you "open" the system you have to bleed it. There is a 12mm bolt on top of the engine where the large hose goes into the head. Open it with the car running and the heat on full blast and let the coolant pour until you see no more air bubbles.

Then everything will be fine.

 

I'll be sure to try that tomorrow. Thanks serge!

 

Well it's still on the third bar. I've bled it three times, am I supposed to keep doing it until it doesn't heat up anymore?

 

You could try bleeding a few more times. What I do is attach a coolant pressure tester onto the overflow tank and pump it up a little with the bleed screw open, which helps force air out the screw. If you don't have a pressure tester you can put your mouth on there and blow hard. Sometimes I've had to do this several times. You don't want to introduce new air into the system via the bleed screw.

The pressure tester can also be used to check for trapped air. If you pump up the pressure with the bleed screw closed and the coolant level visibily drops in the reservoir tank, then you've got trapped air in the system.

Also check that your thermostat is rated the same temperature as the old. Take it out, put it and the old one into a simmering hot pot of water and see that they open at the same time (presuming your old stat still works right). The temperature should be stamped on the stat itself.