My car is a 2007 Xfire base. I have read the excellent tutorial on this forum on how to do a coolant flush. But in the tutorial it speaks to replacing the thermostat. I am just curious for all of you guys who did a coolant flush did you go the extra step and change the thermostat.

I had just wanted to flush the coolant and dod not know a thermostat change factored into it. Will you guys weigh in as to whether this is necessary

C

 

I flushed mine, replaced the coolant and I did not replace the thermostat, why replace something that isn't broken?

 

I changed my coolant last year and replaced the thermostat (short money) If you follow one of the threads on flushing the system the thermostat is remove anyway. Worked great for me and I feel secure knowing it has been done. Just my thought.
Bill T.

 

Changing the thermostat is optional. It is a wear item. If you are approaching 100k, I personally would change it out. And it makes the flush easier.

 

Dave I bet you have changed out or repaired perfectly good parts on your cars. Can you think of any?

 

Well i have 54,000 miles on my 07 and so do you guys think I should leave the thermostat and change it at a much later flush. These days every dollar counts and needs to be accounted for!

 

Like I said, I did. Actually it is up to you. ME, a no brainer.

 

I have not changed anything except to put on a better part.
My philosophy is that in replacing a part that has lasted for some time it may get replaced by a part that soon fails.

 

In addition, the act of performing PM by replacing parts that have not shown any sign of a failure mode introduces a potential failure mode just by performing the PM. As 180 stated in an earlier post ..."why change something that isn't broken?"

I used to have a 1993 Suzuki Swift GT. Most reliable car I ever owned. I owned the car for 20 years and never changed the coolant or thermostat. I checked the coolant every couple of years to see if the coolant was still providing protection. If the tester read good, that was good enough for me.

 

I rest my case.

 

I think that is called "break down" maintenance!!!!

 

I added a Needswings CAI, a Kenmore radio, added LED lights in the trunk, LED bulbs in the a dome light.
The old ones were not broken, in fact I still have them and I put the OEM nav radio and intake back in the car for a while just for a change.

 

Hey dedwards my wife and I had a swift GT we got new about the same time. That was one awesome and fun car. It was red.

 

Actually, it isn't. Since I was checking the condition of the coolant on the SSGT on a regularly scheduled task, I was verifying the quality of the coolant and its capability to provide protection to determine whether it required changing. I also visually inspected all the hoses, thermostat housing & water pump to see if any signs of coolant leakage was occurring. The only risk was the inability to inspect the thermostat, but if the coolant condition is known, a thermostat failure is a low risk. And most thermostat failures in today's cars occur in the "open state", which means the car's operating temperature remains lower than normal. (Note: I have had a thermostat fail "closed" and that was a major issue as the car overheated!) A true PM should only be an inspection task.

Now most of us change our oil & filter as a PM. But if it were economical and convenient, we'd be checking the condition of the oil using oil analysis. The results from that PM would determine whether the oil and/or filter needed changing. And that test would most likely indicate that only the filter required changing; the oil would typically be fine for at least another PM cycle. That's what large vehicle fleet's do to pinpoint when an oil change is required. Even on our Crossfires, the FSS monitors oil quality along with driving style to identify when an oil change is required. Based on how I use & drive my Crossfire, FSS tells me to change the oil/filter about every 24 months. That's when I perform the maintenance.

Nearly all Owners Manuals and Service Manuals state a "recommended" service interval for fluid flushes and systems cleanings. And I am guilty of adhering to these "recommended" services because it's more economical to execute that maintenance than rebuild/replace a major component or system! With the quality of motor oils present-day, performing an oil change by the "old standard" of every 5000 miles or 6 months is unnecessary maintenance. But the car manufacturers continue to operate that way. My 2012 Ford Fiesta clearly states in the Owner's manual that an oil change is recommended every 7500 miles using Motorcraft Synthetic Blend. But the local dealer always states to perform the maintenance every 5000 miles or 6 months. Dealer tells me that this is "preferred" maintenance to prevent the risk of serious engine damage but, in actuality, the dealer doesn't want to reduce Service Dept revenue! Imagine the financial impact if everyone started bringing their vehicles in for an oil change every 7500 miles instead of at 5000 mile intervals!

 

We bought ours new in 1993 from a dealer in Durham, NC. Recaro bucket seats, 5-speed manual, and perky 1.3 liter dual overhead cam motor. I always got in trouble in that car! Here's a couple of pictures:


As Purchased





As Sold

 

Performing upgrades to any asset typically gets done to extend reliability and reduce life-cycle costs. But there are times when a modification improves operating performance (e.g., Needswings CAI) without sacrificing reliability and that is also a good initiative to perform the upgrade.

 

I"d not tear into the cooling system flush without replacing the thermostat as well. You are in there, you have the system torn apart anway - why not put the new part in - it will cost you nothing the but price of the part.

If you "Save" a few dollars by not changing the thermostat and it acts up later, you are back to square one, tearing the system apart AGAIN.

 

Firm believer of the old saying (doctors creed) 'First, do no harm'. While I do believe the choice is of a personal preference, my only reason for this post is to remind everyone that a job done right the first time saves all involved. Make sure you use the right tool for the job, AND the right torque for the screws/bolts/hardware.

.

 

Dave, you are smarter than that. You are going to wait until your RCM quits on you in the middle of a highway before you decide to re-solder the bad joints. Doubtful. You won't do the sticky key mod until the ignition switch locks up on a drive away from your house? Doubtful.

James

 

I would consider both of these corrective repair tasks as known upgrades that improve the reliability of the Crossfire by reducing the risks of the respective failure modes from occurring. Knowing that, it's a "best practice" to execute these corrective repairs before the respective failure modes occur. Not speaking for Dave, but I'm sure he would concur based on his previous post.

Later,