I've done this exact job a few times now. Next time, remove the battery and battery tray. Tons of room that way, and plenty of room to use ugga dugga power for the 2 top bolts of the alternator, and leave the idler pulley alone. This method reduces frustration and time big time.
Yo Jimbo, I like how you show your mistakes. That is admirable in my book, because it shows others what to look out for when taking on a complex job they haven't done before. Congrats on another homerun hit. Also, your able to jam pack tons of good info into only a 10 minute video. I have a feeling, on another channel this would be a 20 minute or more video. -Chuck
I just did this last week ...it was a fairly simple job .removing the alternator isn't necessary if you go through the wheel well...give that a try next time.
I like your video thanks! I bought a 04 trailblazer for my daughter's 1st vehicle. She noticed it's not getting warm air thru the vents/defrost. I've checked all actuators, heater coil etc. BUT I noticed once I pulled the radiator cap, the fluid was green and not orange as it calls for. The temp gauge was only holding about 120. I believe the thermostat is stuck open so I'm gonna have to replace thermostat and flush the system. Then refill with correct antifreeze. Your video was very helpful. Thanks again!!
We have a 2006 Envoy owned since being new and everything on the vehicle is a challenge to work on even the oil filter is a pain to change ! Recently I replaced the radiator , fan clutch , tensioner pulley , idler pulley , thermostat and dexcool . What a pain but my $600.00 parts would have easily been a $2000.00 shop bill !
just the OEM fan clutch is at least $1000 at the dealer - and they didn't even do a PCM upgrade on the air conditioner - so it STILL blows hot air after a few minutes of cool AC.
nice video. i had a similar problem with my 04 trailblazer. when we bought it it kept throwing a check engine light. it was cooling too efficiently. someone replaced dex cool for old green antifreeze. i changed to dex cool and never had the light come on again but the temp runs a few degrees hotter with the dex cool. it still runs good
I drive a 06 Hummer. And mine was running hot so I thought. Only to find out it wasn't. But the temp gauge was saying otherwise. I changed the antifreeze and put dex 50/50. And new water pump. Now back to needle being in the middle. 😳. So I'm assuming the color was right. But they put 100% dex in. Instead of 50/50. I probably should've changed thermostat as well. But no longer have issues feeling like I'm running hot. Gm couldn't figure out why. But I fixed my own issue just by changing the liquid lol
I suggest getting a radiator funnel (one that can hold the liquid and you can burp the air out while running the car and don't forget to run the heater too). One of the best investments I've made. EPAuto fill funnel on Amazon.
🔥 Another good video Jimmy. But did you know you can actually remove/replace the thermostat through the driver side wheel well, without having to remove the alternator and bracket. You do have to use about 4 feet of socket extensions 🤣 I've changed my thermostat twice on my '04 Envoy (301k miles). Good to see ya back by the way 👍
I've pulled many a lower radiator hose to drain the coolant and have yet to be able to do it neatly. And I'd like to strangle the guy who invented those spring clamps, I always replace them with good Stainless Screw clamps on my vehicles. I have found when working on other peoples cars that you need to make sure you put those spring clamps back exactly the way they were unless you are installing new hose to help ensure no leaks. Hoses get harder with age, if you don't get those spring clamps back right there's a good chance they will leak. There is a tool made especially for them, guess I should have bought one 30 years ago. Factory always seems to position those in the worst position to get channel locks on them. I have started using the Prestone yellow antifreeze in my 03 Chevy pickup, it's compatible with all other antifreeze so I don't have to worry so much about getting all the old out or what I top it of with out on the road. I by the concentrate, mix it 50% in a spare gallon jug in the garage, then put it in radiator to assure I have the right mix.
Same here, replace with screw clamps. In my opinion, if the Hose comes off and it's older than 2 years it is going to be replaces, they are cheap and I am not taking chances.
For the bolt under the alternator I was able to get mine off with a standard 15mm socket, a swivel adapter, a 3” extension, and a 3/8” socket driver 3:19
that's about what I had to do to get the front driver door handle off! A 1/4 to 3/8 connection to swivel via a 10 mm extension. That 10 mm nut was way unreachable behind the frame inside the door.
I have a 2005 Envoy, I might have to do the same soon! I did the alternator 2 years ago, and yes what a pain in the tight place. lol 😂🤣Thanks for a great step by step video, new subscriber!
Very good video! I remember those days of finding that there were a half dozen other items to remove to get to the one needing to be placed! Now I need to see what it takes to do my 2011 Ford Fusion hybrid coolant and thermostat.
Some types of antifreeze do not play well together, even in small amounts. I flushed my system out using tap water by draining the radiator, which held what I thought was an incredibly small amount of fluid, ran it, drained it, filled it and repeated until the water came out clear. Then I flushed it several more times with distilled water. Drained it, took a hose off the heater core, put my thumb over the end of the hose, blew into the radiator to get as much water out of the heater core as possible. Then I bought a gallon of the recommended antifreeze, full strength, mixed half with distilled water in a separate jug to make a 50-50 mix, poured a half gallon of straight antifreeze into the radiator to mix with any water left in the system and then topped it off with the 50-50 mix. Tested it a week later and it is good to 20 below.
As experience working on older cars to the mid cars today I will agree it is harder to work on them because of the way they change them around and make it hard for you to work on your cars at home I agree with that
I actually heard from a couple of experienced mechanics that dex cool itself was designed to eat up the gaskets and stuff overtime. I my self know a thing or two about working on cars. First I was in disbelief that this dex cool theory was true. But then one day, I had to do a head gasket job on my Pontiac mini van. At this point, I never done this before, but I had the tools and repair manual already, so I said bump it, let me give it a try. So because it was my first time actually doing a head gasket job, I started looking at videos on how to torque the head bolts down probably. After watching several videos on this subject, including different makes and models of engines, I realized that the GM 3400 motor head job that I was doing had the lowest torque specs out of all the other model vehicles that I then seen. I was working on a 99 model montana, the manual stated that the torque spec was 37 foot pounds of torque. And then a couple years later it was revised to 44 foot pounds of torque. But most of the other manufactures from Honda to ford had almost double to triple that number. Now we are talking about head bolts here, and gm recommended these lite ass torque specs?. But at the same time, those same engines were notorious for intake manifold gaskets and head gasket problems. The moral of this story is, just know that most of the issues with your car were done by design. So don't always assume the factory recommendation is the best choice 😉. ...here is a little proof that the anti freeze color is not important as one might make it seem. If the color was so important, then why can all cars just use water in the summertime? I'm not saying to use water, because water eventually evaporates, and freezes in the cold, and is no protection against rust. I'm just helping one see that if the green antifreeze been working good for decades with no issue, and then when the orange antifreeze came, it came at a time where Gm model cars all of a sudden became notorious for head gasket issues. It's more to it of course, but that's enough for now to raise an eye brow 🤔💭
@@rolisaenz ... whatever color you use, just don't mix them together, unless it's the universal kind, that can mix with all colors. If you use green, try to flush out the orange antifreeze first ( that's if it's in there already). They say the chemicals in the old green versus the chemicals in the orange tend to create It's own type of problem. But the universal antifreeze is made to fit with all colors. Use the universal antifreeze if you're just trying to add antifreeze to top off the current antifreeze that's in the car already.
@@johndough4338 Thanks Pal, hey im looking at rockauto , im getting the radiator and upper and lower hoses plus the thermostat, but i dont see the clamps for the upper and lower hoses ? any ideas where to get those ?
@@rolisaenz ... I'm sure any auto parts place like Auto zone, O'Reilly's, pep boy's etc. will have them. Those claps come in different sizes, you might have to get the one that utilizes a screw driver to adjust to it's tightest snub on the hose. You just have to get the one that's physical in comparison with the sizes of the hoses. But I'm sure the guys at the auto parts place will point you in the right direction. Just let them know you're looking for the clamps for the top & bottom radiator hoses.
lol He's a major coke head you can clearly see his cheeks all sunken in and the size if his pupils and how energetic he is. He was probably on a major coke or meth binge.
You can access the hose and thermostat housing through the fender well. Drain cock for the radiator is on the passenger side very bottom of the radiator.
Not sure it's truly flushed if the block wasn't drained, too. Likely the two fluids are mixed now since there was probably still some pink in there. Whether that's a big deal or not........?
Since you had the battery unhooked anyway, go ahead and take it out. That will give you a lot more room on the side to get a socket and extensions in there to get to the bolts.
Actually, draining the coolant by removing the hose like Jim did is better/safer than using the peacock anyway. The peacocks are usually just real cheapo plastic that gets brittle. You remove the peacock and it falls apart when you take it out and then what? A lot of mechanics use the hose over the peacock for that reason.
That has been my plan to save time by not waiting for T-stat to open. Get more out, too as new T-stat will close before you can drain as much as possible.
I just did a thermostat turn your wheels to the left, grab 3 ft of extensions and unscrew the bottom, to replace put grease in your 10mm socket to hold the bolt in place and 🎉
Traditionally you always test a thermostat before you install it in on the car since they can be a real pain to install. I wounder how you test that design before you install it? In the past you took a hot plate a container of water and a thermometer. Brought the water up to the temp listed on the thermostat and submerged it. If it opened you took it out and installed the car. If it did not you got another thermostat and started over.
@@ideled I served it at a party and got rave reviews on it's sweet tangy taste but now they are all dead. Don't worry, they weren't close friends, they were democrats!
@@REVNUMANEWBERN I would right in front of a Sierra Club member or a "Karen" just to watch their head explode but thank G-d I don't live in that 3rd world $h%T hole of a state!
I've done this before a couple times but curiosity led me to this video and a few others like it. Why on Earth anyone would change this hard to get to thermostat and not change that lower radiator hose at the same time (and replace those clamps that aren't supposed to be reused) is beyond me. But everybody with a video on RUclips reuses the same hose and clamps. Also, running the heater fan on high just makes it take longer to warm up since all you're doing is blowing outside air across the heater core causing the coolant to lose heat to the interior of the vehicle. It's ridiculously easy to change that thermostat if you just take the wheel off and go through the wheel well.
The only time you take a vehicle back to a dealer is for RECALLS only where they are picking up the tab. If you can't attempt this procedure then take it to a local garage, NEVER the dealer.
50 years ago, my Uncle worked in an assembly plant for GM. Even back then he said, IF the engineers who design these cars had to work on them themselves, they'd redesign the entire car from, bumper to bumper; when, cars were MUCH LESS complicated to work on!
The pink coolant was replaced it is a OAT type base antifreeze. Personally you can add any type of antifreeze once you flush the whole system. I honestly wouldn’t of added Dexcool back in it too many horror stories from that stuff eating gaskets.
I would have changed the Temperature sensor while you had it apart. It's right next to the thermostat and often causes the "Coolant below operating temperature" code associated with the thermostat.
After 2006 the temp sensor was moved to the other side of the engine at the rear. I was planning on changing both at the same time til I found out they weren't near each other.
I'm not only but my last comment that I highly recommend if the car is a pain in the butt to change the thermostat why not buy a water pump at the same time they tell you to change your water pump every 100 and 40,000 miles but I recommend about a hundred miles the reason why the water pump have too many plastic parts on the inside and they're not as built as good as they used to be with aluminum or almost steel parts in them to prevent them from falling apart that's another reason why I highly recommend if you change your thermostat for the first time go ahead and change the water pump in the same process so you don't have to tear it apart and do it all over again and have a bad headache
Hope you can answer my question I'm in the process of doing this rn on the coolant of dexcool did you mix it with distilled water ? Or did just pour it in straight no 50/50 dexcool coolant if that made since I need an answer asap please need my truck running also I dont thi k I needed a thermostat change i or coolant change but the coolant got dirty and i bought DeX cool I think the problem I have is the coolant temperature sensor but I can't find it there said it was near the thermostat but mine isn't so I took off my radiator and thermostat off for nothing looming for the sensor if you can please help and hit me with a reply back thanks a ton just subscribe great video
Have 03 Trailblazer. My coolant was just below the ''neck'''not sure if that is too low. Also, it was a really rusty color, some said that could be bad considering i have a cylindar 4 misfire. It is an orange color, so it might be ok. Anybody know more about this?
Worked on many trailblazer and envoy overheats do not 7se no aftermarket thermosstat number two gotget flush spend 100 bucks on a fresh radiator also check the cat for being clogged with a digital therm9meter good luck 15 mm flat ratchet does wonders tighten thermosrat with 1/4 drive. Good luck
I am in the process of this on my 06 trailblazer 4.2 and I drained the coolant because Q#1 i am replacing my thermostat but the thermostat i got from auto zone didnt have the air hole ,does it have to have the air hole .?...Q#2 I got out 2 gallons of coolant from the drain, bought dex cool concentrate becasue the coolant I took out was redish, is that redish coolant dex cool ???.. do i have to mix the concentrate with distilled water ? Q#3 the left over redish coolant that is still in the engine or wherever can that stay in the engine of do I have to flush it out ?? I have 2 gallons of dexcool concentrate coolant to play need asap thanks guys
The reddish coolant you encountered means that someone did you favor and flushed out the Dex Cool that the Trailblazer originally came with and replaced it with HOAT coolant instead which is more of a pinkish-red color. Dex Cool is Orange and turns brown as it ages. Anyhow, since you are uncertain about what type of coolant it had, you should most definitely do a complete cooling system flush (including heater core) and consider sticking with the red HOAT coolant that was in there rather than reverting back to Dex Cool. If you do want to consider switching back to Dex Cool then l highly advise you look in to the Dex Cool issues before committing to that. As far as the thermostat goes, l would highly recommend that you stick with the OEM part rather than going with an auto supply store miscellaneous brand as this is one of those parts that you don't want to play a gamble with and continuously have to replace because of the labor involved. In some cases you can find out who the OEM part is actually made by and purchase it direct from the part manufacturer so that you don't have to pay the dealership mark-up. lt's scary to think that an aftermarket parts manufacturer would fail to include a weep hole in their version of a water pump, but I would not install an aftermarket water pump that excluded a weep hole on any of my vehicles since the function of a weep hole is important. The weep hole is intended to allow extra lubricant from the pump bearings to drip out of the water pump housing. Without this hole, the oil would be forced past the water pump seal and get into the engine coolant. The hole also allows coolant to escape the pump housing instead of being forced past the oil seals to contaminate the bearings. The way you can tell if a seal if about to fail is by checking the weep hole to see what is coming out If oil comes out of the weep hole, it means you have a blown or failing oil seal. If, instead, water or anti-freeze leaks out of the weep hole, then you have a leaking internal water pump seal in the case.
If you decide to go ahead and flush the cooling system in one of these 4.2L vehicles. Make sure you follow the refill procedure(exactly). So you don't get an air pocket(s) in the head. These engines are kinda prone to dropping valve seats. If you happen to get an air pocket in the head,it can,& probably will cause a hot spot. If it gets too hot, the valve seat (steel insert) can fall out and cause catastrophic engine damage. If that happens, you might as well plan on buying a different vehicle. It will cost more to repair than the vehicle is worth. If you don't have the repair manual or you really don't know what you're doing. It might be a good idea to just take it in. I'm just saying this because my neice's boyfriend blew up her engine recently attempting this repair on her Trailblazer LT 4.2L. Actually, he's her ex-boyfriend now. And she borrowing one of my vehicles at the moment. I'm only here to research,maybe trying to repair her engine, but it's not looking good. It's probably cheaper for her to just buy another vehicle. She really can't afford that. I'm probably gonna end up gifting the Cherokee to her for Christmas.
I actually drained mine on my 03 grand prix and filled the system with they green stuff and nothing bad happened. No muck in the system.... that dexcool usually produces over time. 🤷
I"ve come to the conclusion that my Envoy is a mechanics nightmare come to reality. Everything about this thing is difficult! It's almost like it was purposely made difficult to perform basic maintenance.
One other thing to add to my comment if you decide to change your thermostat in a vehicle from 1998 to 2017 I would also recommend not only changing your thermostat every year but flushing your radiator out every other year to prevent overheating issues
of course it's a pain in the neck thats because its made my GM. I can change the thermostat on my sequoia in 5 minutes without removing anything even though i haven't had to because toyota is so reliable even with 300,000 miles. still a fan of the channel though lol.
What a terrible design! No way to do this without making a slobbing mess. Don't be overly picky about coolant. The color indicates that it has had a universal coolant in it and has mixed. You took it back to the crappy seal busting plastic swelling gasket eating orange death dexcool on a 15 year old vehicle? uhhh ok.......
I am not looking for an option other than an Envoy. Instead I get an Envoy and a Trailblazer. The locations of of the video is different than the locations of eachother.
A easier way to change the thermostat is to remove the driver's front wheel. Then with a few extensions for your wrench, you can easily remove it.
Dude, you may have just saved my life...
Thanks!
No doubt, he saved mine as well thanks.
Looks like we all need to be watching your videos !
@@artmias5538did this work for you?
@@jamesbarker5262did this work for you?
I've done this exact job a few times now. Next time, remove the battery and battery tray. Tons of room that way, and plenty of room to use ugga dugga power for the 2 top bolts of the alternator, and leave the idler pulley alone. This method reduces frustration and time big time.
Yo Jimbo,
I like how you show your mistakes. That is admirable in my book, because it shows others what to look out for when taking on a complex job they haven't done before. Congrats on another homerun hit.
Also, your able to jam pack tons of good info into only a 10 minute video. I have a feeling, on another channel this would be a 20 minute or more video.
-Chuck
Thank you for the kind words! I try my best to make the videos clear, concise and entertaining.
@@1RoadGarage you vs @Chrisfix round 1.
A ratcheting box wrench set is a wise purchase for you it appears. And, I agree totally on the OEM coolant.
I just did this last week ...it was a fairly simple job .removing the alternator isn't necessary if you go through the wheel well...give that a try next time.
I like your video thanks! I bought a 04 trailblazer for my daughter's 1st vehicle. She noticed it's not getting warm air thru the vents/defrost. I've checked all actuators, heater coil etc. BUT I noticed once I pulled the radiator cap, the fluid was green and not orange as it calls for. The temp gauge was only holding about 120. I believe the thermostat is stuck open so I'm gonna have to replace thermostat and flush the system. Then refill with correct antifreeze. Your video was very helpful. Thanks again!!
The antifreeze didn’t cause your problem I replaced radiator in mine used regular antifreeze 50/50 mix it’s been fine over 50k Miles since.
We have a 2006 Envoy owned since being new and everything on the vehicle is a challenge to work on even the oil filter is a pain to change ! Recently I replaced the radiator , fan clutch , tensioner pulley , idler pulley , thermostat and dexcool . What a pain but my $600.00 parts would have easily been a $2000.00 shop bill !
just the OEM fan clutch is at least $1000 at the dealer - and they didn't even do a PCM upgrade on the air conditioner - so it STILL blows hot air after a few minutes of cool AC.
nice video. i had a similar problem with my 04 trailblazer. when we bought it it kept throwing a check engine light. it was cooling too efficiently. someone replaced dex cool for old green antifreeze. i changed to dex cool and never had the light come on again but the temp runs a few degrees hotter with the dex cool. it still runs good
I drive a 06 Hummer. And mine was running hot so I thought. Only to find out it wasn't. But the temp gauge was saying otherwise. I changed the antifreeze and put dex 50/50. And new water pump. Now back to needle being in the middle. 😳. So I'm assuming the color was right. But they put 100% dex in. Instead of 50/50. I probably should've changed thermostat as well. But no longer have issues feeling like I'm running hot. Gm couldn't figure out why. But I fixed my own issue just by changing the liquid lol
I suggest getting a radiator funnel (one that can hold the liquid and you can burp the air out while running the car and don't forget to run the heater too). One of the best investments I've made. EPAuto fill funnel on Amazon.
From page 6-296 (Vol. 1) of the 2002 Service Manual the thermostat housing bolts torque specs:10 N-m or 89 lb in (GMC SM nomenclature)
🔥 Another good video Jimmy. But did you know you can actually remove/replace the thermostat through the driver side wheel well, without having to remove the alternator and bracket. You do have to use about 4 feet of socket extensions 🤣 I've changed my thermostat twice on my '04 Envoy (301k miles). Good to see ya back by the way 👍
@@mealarca I know! That was before my RUclips days 😁
Was it hard getting the thermostat bolts back in?
@@JP-nq5dp If you have a magnetic socket, it would be pretty easy. I had to tape the bolts to my socket.
If Kevin says it believe it. This guy is an expert on the GMC Envoy. He has 300k + miles on his. That makes an expert in my opinion.
@@pontiacsrule8761 thanks for the kind words👍 My Envoy is very close to 350k now.
I've pulled many a lower radiator hose to drain the coolant and have yet to be able to do it neatly. And I'd like to strangle the guy who invented those spring clamps, I always replace them with good Stainless Screw clamps on my vehicles. I have found when working on other peoples cars that you need to make sure you put those spring clamps back exactly the way they were unless you are installing new hose to help ensure no leaks. Hoses get harder with age, if you don't get those spring clamps back right there's a good chance they will leak. There is a tool made especially for them, guess I should have bought one 30 years ago. Factory always seems to position those in the worst position to get channel locks on them.
I have started using the Prestone yellow antifreeze in my 03 Chevy pickup, it's compatible with all other antifreeze so I don't have to worry so much about getting all the old out or what I top it of with out on the road. I by the concentrate, mix it 50% in a spare gallon jug in the garage, then put it in radiator to assure I have the right mix.
Same here, replace with screw clamps. In my opinion, if the Hose comes off and it's older than 2 years it is going to be replaces, they are cheap and I am not taking chances.
For the bolt under the alternator I was able to get mine off with a standard 15mm socket, a swivel adapter, a 3” extension, and a 3/8” socket driver 3:19
that's about what I had to do to get the front driver door handle off! A 1/4 to 3/8 connection to swivel via a 10 mm extension. That 10 mm nut was way unreachable behind the frame inside the door.
I have a 2005 Envoy, I might have to do the same soon! I did the alternator 2 years ago, and yes what a pain in the tight place. lol 😂🤣Thanks for a great step by step video, new subscriber!
Very good video! I remember those days of finding that there were a half dozen other items to remove to get to the one needing to be placed! Now I need to see what it takes to do my 2011 Ford Fusion hybrid coolant and thermostat.
I replaced radiator on mine like 50k miles ago and just used regular antifreeze 50/50 mix it’s completely fine.
Hope the Mrs. appreciates your efforts.
Some types of antifreeze do not play well together, even in small amounts.
I flushed my system out using tap water by draining the radiator, which held what I thought was an incredibly small amount of fluid, ran it, drained it, filled it and repeated until the water came out clear. Then I flushed it several more times with distilled water. Drained it, took a hose off the heater core, put my thumb over the end of the hose, blew into the radiator to get as much water out of the heater core as possible. Then I bought a gallon of the recommended antifreeze, full strength, mixed half with distilled water in a separate jug to make a 50-50 mix, poured a half gallon of straight antifreeze into the radiator to mix with any water left in the system and then topped it off with the 50-50 mix. Tested it a week later and it is good to 20 below.
As experience working on older cars to the mid cars today I will agree it is harder to work on them because of the way they change them around and make it hard for you to work on your cars at home I agree with that
I'm glad I'm not the only one who refilled with dexcool instead of my 2nd choice of toyota pink coolant.
Ooh nice your engine bay looks just like mine. As if the car has been in a time capsule for 15 years.
Thanks Jimmy. Looking a bit tired there fella. Hope you are well!
I actually heard from a couple of experienced mechanics that dex cool itself was designed to eat up the gaskets and stuff overtime. I my self know a thing or two about working on cars. First I was in disbelief that this dex cool theory was true. But then one day, I had to do a head gasket job on my Pontiac mini van. At this point, I never done this before, but I had the tools and repair manual already, so I said bump it, let me give it a try. So because it was my first time actually doing a head gasket job, I started looking at videos on how to torque the head bolts down probably. After watching several videos on this subject, including different makes and models of engines, I realized that the GM 3400 motor head job that I was doing had the lowest torque specs out of all the other model vehicles that I then seen. I was working on a 99 model montana, the manual stated that the torque spec was 37 foot pounds of torque. And then a couple years later it was revised to 44 foot pounds of torque. But most of the other manufactures from Honda to ford had almost double to triple that number. Now we are talking about head bolts here, and gm recommended these lite ass torque specs?. But at the same time, those same engines were notorious for intake manifold gaskets and head gasket problems. The moral of this story is, just know that most of the issues with your car were done by design. So don't always assume the factory recommendation is the best choice 😉.
...here is a little proof that the anti freeze color is not important as one might make it seem. If the color was so important, then why can all cars just use water in the summertime? I'm not saying to use water, because water eventually evaporates, and freezes in the cold, and is no protection against rust. I'm just helping one see that if the green antifreeze been working good for decades with no issue, and then when the orange antifreeze came, it came at a time where Gm model cars all of a sudden became notorious for head gasket issues. It's more to it of course, but that's enough for now to raise an eye brow 🤔💭
thanks for the info John, i will use green then !!
@@rolisaenz ... whatever color you use, just don't mix them together, unless it's the universal kind, that can mix with all colors. If you use green, try to flush out the orange antifreeze first ( that's if it's in there already). They say the chemicals in the old green versus the chemicals in the orange tend to create It's own type of problem. But the universal antifreeze is made to fit with all colors. Use the universal antifreeze if you're just trying to add antifreeze to top off the current antifreeze that's in the car already.
@@johndough4338 Thanks Pal, hey im looking at rockauto , im getting the radiator and upper and lower hoses plus the thermostat, but i dont see the clamps for the upper and lower hoses ? any ideas where to get those ?
@@johndough4338 im looking for the clamps upper and lower hose buddy,. where i can get them ?
@@rolisaenz ... I'm sure any auto parts place like Auto zone, O'Reilly's, pep boy's etc. will have them. Those claps come in different sizes, you might have to get the one that utilizes a screw driver to adjust to it's tightest snub on the hose. You just have to get the one that's physical in comparison with the sizes of the hoses. But I'm sure the guys at the auto parts place will point you in the right direction. Just let them know you're looking for the clamps for the top & bottom radiator hoses.
It was totally easy I just did mine it only took two hours you made it sound difficult 😂
Thankfully I have a good set of gear wrenches. Made it so much easier.
Finally you’ve been ghost forever
lol He's a major coke head you can clearly see his cheeks all sunken in and the size if his pupils and how energetic he is. He was probably on a major coke or meth binge.
You can access the hose and thermostat housing through the fender well. Drain cock for the radiator is on the passenger side very bottom of the radiator.
Earlier models had rad petcock, then it was eliminated so you have to drain rad by removing the hose.
Hey Jimmy.. I like your drain plug in this video.. smart and cost saving I'm Gona do that as well
Not sure it's truly flushed if the block wasn't drained, too. Likely the two fluids are mixed now since there was probably still some pink in there. Whether that's a big deal or not........?
Not a deal breaker.
It is a deal-breaker if they aren't chemically compatible. Engine will be destroyed from the inside.
Way to go Jimmy. Excellent video. Thank you. Bill
Since you had the battery unhooked anyway, go ahead and take it out. That will give you a lot more room on the side to get a socket and extensions in there to get to the bolts.
Wow no drain peacock on the radiator. Another GM cost cutting move.
Actually, draining the coolant by removing the hose like Jim did is better/safer than using the peacock anyway. The peacocks are usually just real cheapo plastic that gets brittle. You remove the peacock and it falls apart when you take it out and then what? A lot of mechanics use the hose over the peacock for that reason.
Petcock.
@@cpscps2679 thank you haha, didn't even notice that it put peacock instead of petcock.
Nice job. Seemed like a big job.
Outstanding job sir!
Seen other videos where they go through the wheel well. Do not have to remove every thing, but the 2 bolts.
Does it matter if you drain the radiator before or after you replace the thermostat? Before seems to make more sense.
Flush it, then replace thermostat and then refill?
That has been my plan to save time by not waiting for T-stat to open. Get more out, too as new T-stat will close before you can drain as much as possible.
I just did a thermostat turn your wheels to the left, grab 3 ft of extensions and unscrew the bottom, to replace put grease in your 10mm socket to hold the bolt in place and 🎉
Good video Jim!
Traditionally you always test a thermostat before you install it in on the car since they can be a real pain to install. I wounder how you test that design before you install it? In the past you took a hot plate a container of water and a thermometer. Brought the water up to the temp listed on the thermostat and submerged it. If it opened you took it out and installed the car. If it did not you got another thermostat and started over.
Same way with this one, stick it on a thing of boiling water and watch it open up, or pour hot water down the one side and see it pour out the other.
DeX cool. Blowing head gaskets and clogging heater cores for eternity.
What thermostat did you use 180 or 192 ? Great video
Jim like to know how you disposed of the old antifreeze. I would have assumed you had over 3 gal to get rid of after all was said and done.
Just poor it out in that California communist street
Don't throw it away, the dogs love that stuff.
@@ideled I served it at a party and got rave reviews on it's sweet tangy taste but now they are all dead. Don't worry, they weren't close friends, they were democrats!
@@REVNUMANEWBERN I would right in front of a Sierra Club member or a "Karen" just to watch their head explode but thank G-d I don't live in that 3rd world $h%T hole of a state!
@@ideled coolant today has a bittering agent to help keep animals from drinking it.
I've done this before a couple times but curiosity led me to this video and a few others like it. Why on Earth anyone would change this hard to get to thermostat and not change that lower radiator hose at the same time (and replace those clamps that aren't supposed to be reused) is beyond me. But everybody with a video on RUclips reuses the same hose and clamps. Also, running the heater fan on high just makes it take longer to warm up since all you're doing is blowing outside air across the heater core causing the coolant to lose heat to the interior of the vehicle. It's ridiculously easy to change that thermostat if you just take the wheel off and go through the wheel well.
Why does this guy remind me of a more sober calm version of Trevor from gta 5😂😂💀💀💀
Doing a water pump on those is like a jigsaw puzzle
I just did mine you dont have to remove the alternator. You can get the bottom bolt from the underside underneath the engine bay.
GMC need to go to the ranch for this thermostat placement 😑
Nice video. Thanks for sharing
I did all this yesterday, what a pain in the ass.
is it possible to put a garden hose inside the system to flush the cooling system clean/empty?
Don’t you just love the engineers at GM? They seem to make vehicles so difficult to work on you have to take it to a dealer to fix it.
Seems that way for sure!
The only time you take a vehicle back to a dealer is for RECALLS only where they are picking up the tab.
If you can't attempt this procedure then take it to a local garage, NEVER the dealer.
50 years ago, my Uncle worked in an assembly plant for GM. Even back then he said, IF the engineers who design these cars had to work on them themselves, they'd redesign the entire car from, bumper to bumper; when, cars were MUCH LESS complicated to work on!
The pink coolant was replaced it is a OAT type base antifreeze. Personally you can add any type of antifreeze once you flush the whole system. I honestly wouldn’t of added Dexcool back in it too many horror stories from that stuff eating gaskets.
Why didn’t you pull out the fan shroud to make it more easier to access?
Nice work!
I would have changed the Temperature sensor while you had it apart. It's right next to the thermostat and often causes the "Coolant below operating temperature" code associated with the thermostat.
After 2006 the temp sensor was moved to the other side of the engine at the rear. I was planning on changing both at the same time til I found out they weren't near each other.
Great content! 👌
That's ridiculous just to do a thermostat lol
Yeah, all thermostats are pain. Some are easy to get to but all drain and flush take a lot of time.
SO, did changing the fluid CLEAR the code or has it come back on?? Does the code come on a a factory preset mileage??
great job man!!
Always working deep in any motor brings a bloody hand! Great job! Do you think it would have been a little easier on a lift from underneath?
6
How do I know if I need a radiator flush.I had the car from last winter to this winter and I didn't change the radiator fluid ?
Question, I have some overheating to 221 degrees at times during stop but the lower radiator hose seems cold. Could that thermostat be the culprit?
great video! And funny!
No radiator flush fluid?
Easy to get out under the front wheel well with ratchet and extensions
How much DEX cool did it take to fill up radiator?1 or1 and half gallon
4.2 engines hold 13.9 quarts except 2005-6 hold 10.8 and '04 ext wheelbase is15.2
Que cuesta ese sensor ? Dónde lo puedo conseguir???
I'm not only but my last comment that I highly recommend if the car is a pain in the butt to change the thermostat why not buy a water pump at the same time they tell you to change your water pump every 100 and 40,000 miles but I recommend about a hundred miles the reason why the water pump have too many plastic parts on the inside and they're not as built as good as they used to be with aluminum or almost steel parts in them to prevent them from falling apart that's another reason why I highly recommend if you change your thermostat for the first time go ahead and change the water pump in the same process so you don't have to tear it apart and do it all over again and have a bad headache
Hope you can answer my question I'm in the process of doing this rn on the coolant of dexcool did you mix it with distilled water ? Or did just pour it in straight no 50/50 dexcool coolant if that made since I need an answer asap please need my truck running also I dont thi k I needed a thermostat change i or coolant change but the coolant got dirty and i bought DeX cool I think the problem I have is the coolant temperature sensor but I can't find it there said it was near the thermostat but mine isn't so I took off my radiator and thermostat off for nothing looming for the sensor if you can please help and hit me with a reply back thanks a ton just subscribe great video
Have 03 Trailblazer. My coolant was just below the ''neck'''not sure if that is too low. Also, it was a really rusty color, some said that could be bad considering i have a cylindar 4 misfire. It is an orange color, so it might be ok. Anybody know more about this?
thanks for the video ! It really helped me to fix my thermostat problem .
Worked on many trailblazer and envoy overheats do not 7se no aftermarket thermosstat number two gotget flush spend 100 bucks on a fresh radiator also check the cat for being clogged with a digital therm9meter good luck 15 mm flat ratchet does wonders tighten thermosrat with 1/4 drive. Good luck
I am in the process of this on my 06 trailblazer 4.2 and I drained the coolant because Q#1 i am replacing my thermostat but the thermostat i got from auto zone didnt have the air hole ,does it have to have the air hole .?...Q#2 I got out 2 gallons of coolant from the drain, bought dex cool concentrate becasue the coolant I took out was redish, is that redish coolant dex cool ???.. do i have to mix the concentrate with distilled water ? Q#3 the left over redish coolant that is still in the engine or wherever can that stay in the engine of do I have to flush it out ?? I have 2 gallons of dexcool concentrate coolant to play need asap thanks guys
The reddish coolant you encountered means that someone did you favor and flushed out the Dex Cool that the Trailblazer originally came with and replaced it with HOAT coolant instead which is more of a pinkish-red color. Dex Cool is Orange and turns brown as it ages. Anyhow, since you are uncertain about what type of coolant it had, you should most definitely do a complete cooling system flush (including heater core) and consider sticking with the red HOAT coolant that was in there rather than reverting back to Dex Cool. If you do want to consider switching back to Dex Cool then l highly advise you look in to the Dex Cool issues before committing to that. As far as the thermostat goes, l would highly recommend that you stick with the OEM part rather than going with an auto supply store miscellaneous brand as this is one of those parts that you don't want to play a gamble with and continuously have to replace because of the labor involved. In some cases you can find out who the OEM part is actually made by and purchase it direct from the part manufacturer so that you don't have to pay the dealership mark-up. lt's scary to think that an aftermarket parts manufacturer would fail to include a weep hole in their version of a water pump, but I would not install an aftermarket water pump that excluded a weep hole on any of my vehicles since the function of a weep hole is important. The weep hole is intended to allow extra lubricant from the pump bearings to drip out of the water pump housing. Without this hole, the oil would be forced past the water pump seal and get into the engine coolant. The hole also allows coolant to escape the pump housing instead of being forced past the oil seals to contaminate the bearings. The way you can tell if a seal if about to fail is by checking the weep hole to see what is coming out If oil comes out of the weep hole, it means you have a blown or failing oil seal. If, instead, water or anti-freeze leaks out of the weep hole, then you have a leaking internal water pump seal in the case.
My 2003 Gmc Yukon Denali calls for dexcool too but the coolant is pink which is actually better than dexcool
If you decide to go ahead and flush the cooling system in one of these 4.2L vehicles. Make sure you follow the refill procedure(exactly). So you don't get an air pocket(s) in the head. These engines are kinda prone to dropping valve seats. If you happen to get an air pocket in the head,it can,& probably will cause a hot spot. If it gets too hot, the valve seat (steel insert) can fall out and cause catastrophic engine damage. If that happens, you might as well plan on buying a different vehicle. It will cost more to repair than the vehicle is worth. If you don't have the repair manual or you really don't know what you're doing. It might be a good idea to just take it in. I'm just saying this because my neice's boyfriend blew up her engine recently attempting this repair on her Trailblazer LT 4.2L. Actually, he's her ex-boyfriend now. And she borrowing one of my vehicles at the moment. I'm only here to research,maybe trying to repair her engine, but it's not looking good. It's probably cheaper for her to just buy another vehicle. She really can't afford that. I'm probably gonna end up gifting the Cherokee to her for Christmas.
Was the thermostat a part of the housing?
Yes
a ratcheting 15mm wrench helps
I actually drained mine on my 03 grand prix and filled the system with they green stuff and nothing bad happened. No muck in the system.... that dexcool usually produces over time. 🤷
do a coolant flush on the 95
Coming up
The torque especs is 11
Did my 03 Envoy straight 6 thermostat not a problem and GM normally doesn't put in the wrong coolant from the factory
So you know you can go thru the drivers side fender well just remove the tire and do this job much easier and quicker.
Am I the only one with an 02 envoy The thermostats on the other side of the motor
in norway it is EASY to find orange coolant! why not use more expensive coolant without water afterwards.
Yeah my dad and i had to removed the altnator out of 02 corolla to change the thermostat.
Ah dex-kill....... hate that garbage!
I'm stranded on a lonely road and mostly COMMERCIALS.
Why does this site give me more than one option, when I put exactly what I was looking for in my vehicle
yes it is important to change the coolant after a few years since it breaks down with age and does not protect as well against rust and cold
I"ve come to the conclusion that my Envoy is a mechanics nightmare come to reality. Everything about this thing is difficult! It's almost like it was purposely made difficult to perform basic maintenance.
Sweat and blood the way to go 😂😭
One other thing to add to my comment if you decide to change your thermostat in a vehicle from 1998 to 2017 I would also recommend not only changing your thermostat every year but flushing your radiator out every other year to prevent overheating issues
Great DIY by the FBI agent from the ozarks.
Go thru the fenderwell for the altermator bolt
Those envoys came with pink fluid from factory. Bought one new in 06
That'ds funny I just did this job and cut my hand in the exact same spot
We are all victims of poor engineering......some of this stuff being manufactured these days is beyond belief.
of course it's a pain in the neck thats because its made my GM. I can change the thermostat on my sequoia in 5 minutes without removing anything even though i haven't had to because toyota is so reliable even with 300,000 miles. still a fan of the channel though lol.
What a terrible design! No way to do this without making a slobbing mess. Don't be overly picky about coolant. The color indicates that it has had a universal coolant in it and has mixed. You took it back to the crappy seal busting plastic swelling gasket eating orange death dexcool on a 15 year old vehicle? uhhh ok.......
I am not looking for an option other than an Envoy. Instead I get an Envoy and a Trailblazer. The locations of of the video is different than the locations of eachother.