- 1). Park the 2002 Dodge Caravan on a level surface and engage the parking brake. Open the hood and shut the engine off. Wait for the engine to completely cool down for a couple of hours before beginning any work.
- 2). Slowly loosen the radiator cap after it has completely cooled off and place it in a safe area. Slide the fluid catch pan under the drain plug on the bottom of the radiator. Loosen the drain plug on the bottom of the radiator with the pliers. Allow a couple of gallons to flow out of the radiator and tighten the drain plug back down tight with the pliers. Leave the catch pan in place.
- 3). Locate the top radiator hose that is coming out of the top of the radiator. Follow the radiator hose to where it connects to the tube of the thermostat housing. Loosen the band clamp from the end of the radiator hose that is attached to the thermostat housing tube. Slide the band clamp back onto the hose and pull the hose off of the tube. Twist and pull out on the hose at the same time to remove.
- 4). Loosen and remove the two mounting bolts on each side of the thermostat housing with a ratchet and a metric socket. Pull the housing straight off of the engine block and set it on top of the radiator. Pull the thermostat straight out of the engine block and discard it into the catch pan.
- 5). Place the new thermostat into the engine block with the spring facing down into the engine block. Clean off any excess gasket from the base of the thermostat housing with a flat metal scraper. Wipe away the excess gasket with a clean rag. Also wipe down the area of the engine block that the housing mounts to over the thermostat.
- 6). Spread a small amount of the red high temperature silicone around the base of the thermostat housing. Press the new gasket to the base with the holes of the gasket matching up with the holes of the base.
- 7). Lower the thermostat housing back over the engine block and screw the two mounting bolts back in. Tighten the bolts down tight with the ratchet and socket.
- 8). Slide the radiator hose back over the tube along with the band clamp. Tighten the clamp with the screwdriver until the hose is properly tightened to the tube.
- 9). Fill the radiator up with antifreeze until the fluid level stabilizes at the top of the radiator. Crank the engine and wait for the engine to reach operating temperature. Once the engine does reach operating temperature, the thermostat will open and allow the antifreeze to flow out of the radiator and into the engine. The antifreeze level will drop inside of the radiator.
- 10
Fill the radiator up with antifreeze until the fluid level stabilizes at the top of the radiator with the engine running. Wait another minute or two to make sure that the radiator is full and turn the engine off. Pull the fluid catch pan out from under the vehicle and close the hood.
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