How to: Replace thermostat with metal one!

[Daox]

Looks like metal to me.

[hbar98]

Okay, another question: Is there a thermostat out there that is cooler than 221? Or are they all 221 degrees?

[Steverino]

Also watch when trying to use factory bolts into steel housing.Mine had built-in washers that send the bolt off-center and cross-threaded into one hole. Had to re-tap bolt hole in head and got some replacement bolts and ground one edge off a new washer to not hit the housing.

[Yellow09LT]

My car is an '09 LT. The engine light came on, it showed thermostat/ temp sensor failure. I went and bought a thermostat from Oreilly's for like $90. Then I found out the housing/ water outlet attached to the engine block was made of plastic. I put the new part on and drove a bit, then stopped at the gas station to check for leaks. Sure enough she was leaking. I grabbed my ratchet and tried to carefully tighten the thermostat, and just as the leak stopped, the plastic housing cracked. coolant started streaming out. I quickly shut the hood and drove around the corner to my driveway and shut the car down. Nobody within 30 miles had the part I needed. I looked on Rock Auto and Ebay. Everything was plastic. Then I saw the same part for the 2012 Sonic, it looked exactly the same, but was made of metal. I blew up both the photos, everything lined up, bolt pattern, gasket shapes, hose connections. Get this the metal one on ebay was way cheaper too! I took a gamble and got it for around $40. Here is the listing: Thermostat New Chevy Chevrolet Cruze Sonic 2012-2015 | eBay
It came in a few days. I cleaned the contact surfaces, bolted on the part, connected the sensors, clamped the hoses, refilled the coolant, crossed my fingers, and started the car. It worked great! No leaks. I drove to the movies and out to get Chinese takeout on a hot afternoon with no issues. Tomorrow I have a 45 minute commute so I will update this post after returning from a longer drive.

Broken Housing

A closer View

The new part arrived

All hooked up

Engine running, no leaks

[Yellow09LT]

***UPDATE***

The newer thermostat and sensors run cooler; the computer does not like that. It activated the check engine light with a thermostat/ temperature fault. Detailed message stated that coolant temperature was lower than normal. My plan is to swap in my old temperature sensor, see if that works. If not, I'll put on the thermostat/ sensor I bought originally. I'll update again with what works out.

[Yellow09LT]

***Final Update***
I did some research on modern engines and thermostats. It would be too much of a hassle to reprogram the computer and tune the engine to use a cooler thermostat and temp sensors. That being said, I went ahead used the new thermostat I originally bought from O'Reilly's, bolted it to the new metal housing from ebay, and used the temp sensors from the old plastic housing. I used the newer o-rings because they were in much better shape. Everything works great. After a couple 45 minute commutes to work I noticed a definite improvement in engine performance.

Thank you for reading, I hope my experience helps.

[marketwatcher]

When buying metal thermostat from auto zone for my 08 AVEO notchback (sedan) there were no gaskets or O rings.
Metal to metal will leak. Comments welcomed.....

[Eg.h2o]

there should be an o ring at the back of the housing. Felpro number 35862.
BUT it should have been in the box you bought. Go back and tell them.