Replacing Thermostat in a 2011 Camaro 3.6 liter V6

[@toriwilliams500]

Only dude on youtube who shows how to do it. Appreciate it

[@picklesgarage]

Sure thing, thanks for watching

[@toriwilliams500]

​@picklesgarage I'm still trying to get the thermostat out. I felt the housing spinning a little is that bad?

[@toriwilliams500]

Do I need to take it off and get a new seal?

[@picklesgarage]

@toriwilliams500 Hey, so the housing around the thermostat does spin so no issues there it makes it easier to get too. You should be fine with everything the package came with the designed it with that o ring gasket and that's all you need

[@toriwilliams500]

@@picklesgarage thank you

[@stevenbarnes8381]

Great video! The step by step instructions with the precise video shots of the bolts in their hidden places was invaluable. Can’t thank you enough.

[@kenlapp22]

This guy is great at explaining things simply and thoroughly. All videos should be this good.

[@sykztnt]

I just did it on my 2013 it was annoying install it took my all day. To install the Thermostat I used the cardboard roll with a 1 1/4 shop vacuum extension tube for more leverage to push in a twist to set the Thermostat. Great video.

[@toriwilliams500]

Great idea, I'm on my second day trying to get the new one in. Lol smh

[@catfighter7]

They should be ashamed. This thermostat replacement is like rebuilding an engine. It's totally stupendous to place it so far out of reach. Placing a simple thermostat so unavailable is wrong unless they could guarantee it never to go bad. I wonder if that's the reason that motor has issues on that side of the block😮

[@Beautiful-Gorgeous]

I agree 💔😮‍💨

[@biscuitjams6187]

There’s way too many issues with the block tbh the 3.6 is so unreliable

[@elgrifo3611]

blame the engineers. smh

[@blaster1120]

I just did this on my 2012 thanks to this video. Couple of things, I did not need to remove my intake manifold, still had hand clearance to unbolt the thermostat housing. Hardest part was the radiator bar hidden bolt, had to buy a swivel ratchet. I also didn’t have to remove the metal radiator hose from the rubber lower house, I just loosened the ring clip and twisted the metal radiator bar up to swap out the thermostat. Compressing the new thermostat took a long time to figure out, that part was really tough. The new gasket also kept falling off on me so I used a little bit of gasket maker to keep it in place. Lastly I refilled with a little more coolant and burped the air out of the system and the car ran like new again.

[@picklesgarage]

@blaster1120 Glad to hear it went well and I appreciate you sharing your added time saves. Thanks for watching!

[@blaster1120]

@@picklesgarage couldn’t have done it without the videos guidance!! Thank you!

[@Camarorsgirl]

Doing this now on my 2012 v6. That last bolt on the radiator hose. Definitely get the swivel piece you see in the video. Me and my dad spent 4 hours just on this bolt til my neighbor let us borrow his swivel ratchet and it came right off

[@catfighter7]

Thanks your video is the best and only one showing the replacement of the new thermostat

[@josedelatorre5490]

Took me 30 mins to do didn’t remove the intake manifold all I did was remove the metal hose with the thermostat housing

[@justinmiller6059]

Can you walk me through it bro I’m currently dealing with mine rn

[@DarknessUnresolved]

DAMN, this is a lot. All day with this, hours just to undo one bolt, unless you have a specific tool (regular ratchet wrench won't do, apparently). And RAINING on the weekend I had considered doing this. I think I'll just take it into the shop, damn!

[@picklesgarage]

Yeah its a tough one, ridiculous design sometimes the time it takes isn't worth it. Thanks for watching though!

[@DarknessUnresolved]

@@picklesgarage Thank you for posting! I'm learning a lot about my car still, and this video did help. But yeah, that thermostat placement SUCKS!

[@healthycigarettes5088]

I went to a shop to replace mine. They charged me a $1000 but they were nice enough to also replace the water pump.

[@Colinireland1992]

Insanely hard job, this took me like 4 hours with limited tools. At one point I actually couldn't shimmy the supply pipe with the housing on it out like I though I'd be able to, jacked up the passenger side so I could get up in there with one arm with an extension to break the supply pipe bolt loose, only to have to mount the housing back in place to break the tube loose. Absolute nightmare. A good 4 or 5 bolts in this job you have to get off and back in one ratchet click at a time.

[@picklesgarage]

Yeah still one of my least favorite repairs. It's tough without some special tools like mini ratchets but then you run into the issue of not getting enough torque on it to break things loose. Terrible set up for sure. Thanks for watching

[@Colinireland1992]

Np, Thank you for the instructional

[@biscuitjams6187]

If you don’t have a tool to get the thermostat out I recommend using an old pill bottle slides right over the top of the thermostat and you can push down and twist the thermo to have it pop out, took me a few minutes to think of what I could use.

[@picklesgarage]

@@biscuitjams6187 Great tip, thanks for adding!

[@HaloGTMaster94]

Amazing!!!!!

[@vibysaurv1009]

Great video man, my camaro keeps overheating and it went into safe mode? And the oil temp shoots up to max as soon as it starts, you think its the thermostat?

[@picklesgarage]

@vibysaurv1009 Yeah that is likely the thermostat. The only other thing you can try first is if there is an air pocket in the engine. You'd want to angle the front end up only slightly. Then when the engine is cold take the cap off and then start it. Fill as the level goes down and keep an eye on the temp then when the level stays steady or rises put the cap back on. Admittedly this is a pretty tough repair but if it's never been done it is likely going to go out soon anyway so it's probably best to do the repair. Thanks for watching!

[@Beautiful-Gorgeous]

Welp, single Camaro girl/ owner of this exact model and, my goodness I have to shovel $700 to the mechanic today for this exact project😮‍💨💔

[@lycant4030]

Good video.. FYI: a laser pointer would be easier to see what bolts your pointing to.

[@picklesgarage]

That's a good tip. I'll see if I can add that in for future videos with out of reach bolts. Thanks for watching!

[@jul1ianvvh184]

What bolts were taken out for the thermostat itself

[@hanfordcali559]

Thanks for this. You da real MVP🙌! Do I have to drain my coolant or could I do it it without having to?

[@picklesgarage]

You could probably get away without doing it. I lost maybe a quart so I just caught that and then topped it back off. If you haven't replaced yours in awhile it might just be good to do both at once but shouldn't have to

[@rileynelson1864]

My 2011 only blows luke warm or cool car temp never gets above 180 guess its thermostat time

[@Br33zy2x]

I might as well put a supercharger on this mf since I gotta take all this apart and I might as well throw new spark plugs on here

[@picklesgarage]

Haha might as well.

[@kenamaro]

Is there only one bracket holding the pipe ? I took out the bolt holding it to the housing… but it won’t come out . Tx.

[@picklesgarage]

@kenamaro Hey, so there should be one on the side of the block, one on the back left of the block and then two bolts holding the housing itself. Hope this helps, thanks for watching

[@picklesgarage]

I show the second bolt on the housing better around 10:08 if that's the one you are talking about if it's any of the others let me know

[@ghos6t]

Damn night fall and he still at the last bolt. I went and made me a sandwich, also I am having the same issue. I am fixing mine tomorrow pray for me lol😂

[@nikkalicioussify]

So I have a 2012 camaro v6 that my heater never blows hot air. It blows but not hot. I thought I would replace the theromastat to see if it helped my problem ... until I watched your video. Pretty involved. As far as I know it's not throwing any codes so not sure anymore what to do. Any ideas? It's pretty freaking cold where I live and I gotta have some heat.

[@picklesgarage]

Unfortunately that is the common reason for not getting hot air so it would probably be a good idea to replace the thermostat. Other reasons would be just low on coolant but I am sure you checked the levels so beyond that it's issues with the switches themselves but unlikely to blow air just not hot air in that case. It is a very involved process but it is strange you wouldn't get any codes at all. Low fluid levels and specific thermostat codes do pop up so unless it is an issue with the heater core I can't see any other solve. The issue with mine wasn't even the mechanism it was the gasket had been eaten away so yours being around the same age I would say you are likely to have this problem soon if you didn't already.

[@tonyanderson8497]

Also the blend doors break on these cars also not a cheap fix dash work

[@SirenOfCode]

I don’t the same issue in 2018 it was my blend door actuator.

[@kenamaro]

Could you remove the fuel line for better access? And maybe remove the entire housing making it easy to replace the t-stat ??

[@picklesgarage]

@kenamaro It is possible but you have to be careful dealing with fuel lines to release pressure properly and keep it away if the engine is hot and clean up any that spills. Just because not everyone will have that comfort level I avoid work with fuel lines in as many of my videos as possible. I personally found it easiest to just remove the cap from the housing which is connected to the metal hard line. Yes if you take the time to remove from that as well it could be easier I was just able to do it without further removal leaving it together. If you are able to do it differently maybe you can comment here how it went so people can choose to add that into their process. My motivation is to help people save money so always welcome people to add what they found was easier to the steps I show. Thanks for watching.

[@Gabrieye]

My 2013 Camaro when I start the car the air from the ac just blows I can’t control the ac anymore by turning it off or on. Could it be a fuse? Any help would be bad ass

[@picklesgarage]

@Gabrieye Hey, unfortunetly I'm not very familiar with that issue but the main thing with fuses is when they are bad it's will cause everything downstream to not work. So with it being stuck on that seems more like a computer issue. Assuming there not a faulty ground or wires arching or something I think the best thing to do would be to do a reset. The old school way to do that would be to remove both cables from the battery (negative first) and hold them together away from the battery for 1 minute to ground it, leave the cables off the battery making sure they don't touch for 15 min then reconnect positive then negative. If it's a computer gremlin that should solve your issue. Let me know if that works or if not maybe I can get some more detail and we can look into something else likely the switch itself. Thanks for watching.

[@Gabrieye]

@ I’ll try that thank you!!!!!!

[@Gabrieye]

@@picklesgarage it worked! I’m back in business, without the annoying fan blowing. Everything is responsive now thanks to you. Thanks again!

[@picklesgarage]

@Gabrieye That's great, I'm glad it worked. Thanks for letting me know and have a good one!

[@777Misskristina]

Question my coolant temp are dropping to cold and not showing on my dash. Could it be a bad thermostat? I have Camaro 2019 v6

[@picklesgarage]

That can be a symptom yes. Often you will get check engine light as well but if the thermostat is stuck wide open then it's not letting the car get to operating temp. You should still see the gauge move somewhat after in town driving but it will not get to where it needs to be.

[@terrranhughes6643]

Having a hard time getting the new one in any tips?

[@picklesgarage]

@terrranhughes6643 the new one into the housing? Did it come with the cardboard cylinder? I used that to press in the spring and twist until it lines up. They do also sell specialty tools to make it easier as well if all else fails. Hope this helps, thanks for watching

[@roselynvibez9090]

Hello I have a camaro 2011 and my car keeps over heating we followed your video and put a new thermostat but We think that the thermostat is not opening up to let water run to the other side. Do you think you might know whats going on?

[@picklesgarage]

@roselynvibez9090 That's possible, but that would only be if the thermostat had a different preset or for some reason it was damaged. I'm guessing what you are experiencing is the engine getting really hot really fast? So it seems like no fluid is flowing in? That might actually just be that you have a large air pocket in the system thats just sitting in the engine. Some cars have a more clever way to do this but you'll notice the cap to fill coolant is higher than the radiator. That's the highest point so starting with the car 100% cold and level take the cap off, fill to the top with radiator fluid and start the car. Let it run for a little while you should see bubbles and the fluid level will go down so keep filling as you go. Keep and eye on the temp but it should only take a few minutes to cycle the system. Make sure you stay within your own comfort zone, the real danger is pressure as it gets hot so with the cap off you can treat it about the same as boiling water on a stove. Shouldn't take long, few minutes and that should help your issue. If the level doesnt change and the temp shoots up you might have an issue with the termostat but they are a really basic device that rarely has issues out of the box if installed as shown. Hope this helps, thanks for watching.

[@quinngreenleaf2405]

Did you top off the coolant after changing the thermostat

[@julianduran7741]

Did you have to replace manifold gasket ? Doing mine tomorrow , pray for ya boy

[@picklesgarage]

@julianduran7741 I did not, it's pretty sturdy plastic so mine looked OK. It's always best to leave it better than you find it but odds are yours will look OK as well. Good luck and thanks for watching!

[@madduxheskey5059]

when i took mine for a test run my coolant temp was reading in the 250s when i believe it’s supposed to sit at 210? it’s a 2011 camaro LT. could this also resolve to the thermometer being busted?

[@madduxheskey5059]

i forgot to mention that once it hits 80mph it tells me to shut off the car due to it overheating

[@picklesgarage]

Yes, that is commonly a symptom. It's not the only thing that can cause it, low fluid and air pockets as well but if the thermostat is stuck open it just keeps circulating the coolant in and out of the engine which makes everything heat up faster. Or if it's stuck closed then it just heats up quickly as well. In any case you won't regret replacing these if it's not bad it will be soon at this age and it's more than likely your issue.

[@martinmendoza7036]

If your thermostat is bad could that cause your ac compresor nit turn on. My daughters car temperature goes above normal once it started doing that the ac stop blowing cold and compressor doesn’t turn on. It was blowing cold and the next boom it stop and after that the car temperature would go up .

[@picklesgarage]

It can yes, it is common for there to be a noticeable change in the air temp when the car starts to overheat. Cars are also designed to work within a tempature range so when overheating they loose power and because the ac compressor is driven by the engine it will not work as it normally would. It's also a hotter environment in the engine bay so the process to cool the air is not as affective. This could also be ac specific issues in tandem with the thermostat like low freon but in any case you want to minimize overheating because it will cause permanent damage.

[@jorgearjona2125]

How did you get the housing to open up with the thermostat mine just keeps wiggling and all of the bolts are off too

[@picklesgarage]

Do you mean it's wiggling back and forth but the pipe won't pull up? I'd double check along the pipe to double check the brackets are all undone. The pipe should freely pull up and then the housing will rotate around the pipe

[@jorgearjona2125]

It pulls up right below the fuse box I took off the brackets and I can get my fingers on the opened gap of the thermostat housing and it just doesn’t come off when I pull up

[@picklesgarage]

@jorgearjona2125 Strange, I know it has the two bolts either side of the housing. I know sometimes it will be stuck from the gasket but if you can get fingers under it that wouldn't be the case. Might be that the thermostat itself is catching on something. Sorry I can't be of more help but it sounds like you removed everything so it's gotta be hooked or something.

[@jorgearjona2125]

How did you get the new thermostat in I,ve been trying to put the new thermostat in I have the old one taken out

[@picklesgarage]

@jorgearjona2125 If the new one came with that thick card board cylinder that's the easiest way. You line the new one up and then use the cylinder to push down the tabs by pushing your hands together and then twist so the tabs grab onto the housing. It's a big pain. If you don't have the cardboard cylinder you might get away with a C clamp as long as you dont damage anything. Hope this helps

[@waynedavis7337]

Man that’s that bullshit awesome job tho bro 🤦🏾‍♂️ yeah I think I’m going to the shop 😩 with mines

[@lucasfisher6993]

Hey. So I might have to do this on mine soon. What's the reason the inlet needs to be removed please? I don't really see why it needs to be off. 👍

[@picklesgarage]

It's just going to be really hard to get a hand on everything you need to remove in the back. As always I encourage people to try to make it as easy as possible but this step is pretty necessary unless you can get really creative with tools and grip. Let me know how it goes

[@lucasfisher6993]

@@picklesgarage brilliant thank you

[@michaelhodge4885]

So my son has 2010 camero I have replaced a water pipe intake gaskets radiator cap thermostat and it’s still leaking water, but it don’t drip. It seems like it don’t start leaking until the engine gets hot and it’s vibrating before it drips. Anyone else had this problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[@querob1135]

My Camaro recently started leaking coolant and I connected and OBD reader and got the code “p1258” which is telling me I’m low on coolant and need to replace the thermostat my question is I looked under my car and saw fluid coming from out of the hose that’s connected to the thermostat I honestly think I just need and o-ring around that’s hose and I’ll be good any suggestions ?

[@picklesgarage]

Yeah could just be a leak, you will get an operating temperature error if it is the actual gasket on the termostate but if you are going to be back there anyway to change the gasket ring around the termostat I'd just replace it while you are there. It will go bad likely soon anyway it has the same rubber around it as the o ring for the housing and the part itself is cheap. Unless you are referring to the seal toward the front of the block but I say if you are spending a few hours on this it's best to make it the last time haha

[@querob1135]

@@picklesgarageI’m referring to the hose that goes directly into the thermostat not the skinny one but the thicker one it looks like the hose is in the thermostat but it’s looks as if the liquid is just barely seeping out

[@querob1135]

@@picklesgaragealso I do apologize for not knowing the exact names of the pipes I’m not too car savvy

[@picklesgarage]

@querob1135 this is a V6 right? Is the hose you are referring to metal? It wraps around the passengerside and goes to the back of the engine?

[@pelochas1029]

my camaro is overheating, there is small overflow at the reservoir and i see steam leak at the radiator cap. does this mean the thermostat failed, no longer is opening to let the coolant flow thru the radiator

[@picklesgarage]

Likely these do go bad somewhat regularly. If you are getting no codes however there's a chance there is just air in the system. I don't have a video myself on it but there should be some out there and then you could rule that out

[@pelochas1029]

@@picklesgarage well its a 2010, 13 years old. Original owner. I squeezed the hoses for air and refilled while engine running. The reservior starts drippin coolant underneath at around 190 degrees. It doesnt make sense why its dripping coolant before reaching normal temp. If i drive it around, it will overheat, get the engine overheating warning, lots of coolant at reservior. Appears like no flow thru thermostat or no water pump

[@picklesgarage]

@pelochas1029 Yeah then your best bet is the thermostat. Most around this time are corroded even if the mechanism still works. It's due for a replace and hopfully that will address the issue.

[@pelochas1029]

Got it done. Its good now. Thanks.

[@gillygrylls]

@@picklesgarageI’m troubling shooting mine as the issue got worse. No coolant leaks. Oil changed. But the temps will be fine then suddenly skyrockets to the high coolant message then a second later goes back to normal. I bought a spill free funnel to try and do a burp on the radiator. I hope that helps. I also noticed when checking the radiator the other day the cap broke. Well the inside ring broke. Which of course now I can’t drive far as it overheats faster.this is my only car. So I hope when I get my radiator cap and funnel I can let the car rest and try to burp it in the morning.

[@crunchyfrybread]

Pro tip: after removing the intake, place a large piece of cardboard on the top of the engine and lay on it. You will have two free hands and your back will thank you.

[@picklesgarage]

@crunchyfrybread Nice, thank you for adding that. Have a good one and thanks for watching!

[@gillygrylls]

So you didn’t have to drain the coolant?

[@picklesgarage]

Not completely, no. There's coolant in the tube naturally so you will lose a bit when that's removed but just what is toward the top and then you can top off when you are done. Though to make less of a mess and if your coolant hasn't been flushed before this is a good opportunity to drain the coolant when working on this. Thanks for watching

[@gillygrylls]

@@picklesgarage thanks. Appreciate the reply. I was gonna do this on my 2010 Camaro and was curious if I should. I think I have a timing issue. I keep getting code that says performance bank. I’ll have to have my friend check it out. He works on camaros

[@picklesgarage]

@gillygrylls Could also be the Ignition coils. I had nearly all of mine go out at some point or another. You can get them at a local auto parts store usually with a lifetime warranty. If you narrow down the side you will often see a code of an under performing cylinder and then you can replace that one/ones and all the spark plugs which should help/resolve

[@gillygrylls]

@@picklesgarage yeah exactly I was also getting random code on cylinder 4. I have the V6. Plugs were changed around Sept last year and put new coil pack on but they were cheap. I should actually replace with better quality ones. Had just went for a quick fix as I was going in a road trip. Appreciate your input. Will subscribe

[@picklesgarage]

@gillygrylls I appreciate it, have a good one!

[@frmd]

honestly i do it to my car without removing no air filter hose no even intake just play around the thermostat in the small area was pain in azz but worth the pain

[@504Trey]

Lies

[@toriwilliams500]

​@504Trey how, I looking and can doing it now

[@Starlynightlight]

I'm stressed just looking at this

[@picklesgarage]

Still one of my least favorite repairs of all time. Tied with some of the repairs that didn't even make it to youtube because I gave up trying to explain how wildly I was winging something haha. Thanks for watching

[@willierast9715]

Worst job ever! Pipe won’t come out so I swapped thermostats by laying flat on the engine to get some leverage. Also, stubby ratchet was a life saver on that back bolt that holds the pipe on.

[@picklesgarage]

Yep, it's in my top 5 for sure! I found comfort thinking about the money saved though haha. Thanks for watching

[@willierast9715]

@@picklesgarage Thank you man, you have the only video out there. I watched it over and over trying to hype myself up!

[@chadslater3521]

Would you change the transmission fluid, filter at 94k miles on a camaro 2010 V6 LLT? I am not sure if it's been done before but car fax says it was possibly around 30k

[@picklesgarage]

Yeah, it's a good idea to change out at about 100k. I'd look into doing the rear differential fluid as well. It's not bad to be running with old fluid so these aren't things you need to change super often but the big mile markers(like 100k) it's a good idea to go thru everything and if you haven't changed spark plugs I'd do those as well.

[@raceday-iy7vm]

Why did Chevrolet do this🥵

[@picklesgarage]

Someone brought up this engine was origionally designed for another car and mounted sideways in that. Still crazy they went ahead and left it alone like this but other than that it's a fun engine at least haha.

[@travisnotch382]

😂just lying to there wife and kids

[@rammsteinkorduner3114]

Lol fuck that.

[@drifter9425]

Engineering SUCKS on lots of new cars

[@picklesgarage]

That it does, that's why I like sitting in the engine bay of my squarebodies.

[@drifter9425]

@@picklesgarage Same here new GF has a 2012 Camero I'm driving 2000 F350 7.3 dually Never a check engine light or breakdown in 280,000 except fuel pump in tank the pickup broke off and ran outa fuel at 1/4 tank lol

[@ZuckerPuncher]

Car makers are crap