87 Accord - thermostat housing removal ?

[Lester Lugnut]

Need to remove/replace thermostat housing. It's item number 9 in the photo at the 1st URL towards the end of this post. Gasket number 8 is just to the left of the housing and bleeder pipe number 17 screws into the housing from the top.

It definitely looks like removing the distributor is going to help with accessibility, but there's a pipe that connects on 2 ends that seems to be in the way of removing a couple of 10mm nuts securing the thermostat housing.

Has anyone been down this road?

The thermostat housing is shown in the next URL:

http://www.slhondaparts.com/browse.asp?Model=ACCORD&Year=1987&TrimLevel=4DR+LX&TransLevel=4ATKA&Section=A&Category=E++15++%7CWATER+PUMP+%28CARB%2E%29&Doors=4&Emissions=KA&PartCatalogId=13SE00&ViewParts=true

The pipe that's in the way of removing the 2 t-stat housing nuts is number 9 in the next photo:

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/auto/jsp/mws/prddisplay.jsp?inputstate=5&catcgry1=Accord&catcgry2=1987&catcgry3=4DR+LX&catcgry4=KA4AT&catcgry5=EXHAUST+MANIFOLD+%281%29

[A20A1]

# 9 is the EGR pipe.

Yes remove the distributor after that the EGR pipe isn't a problem really.

If you must stick a bar between the motor and the pipe and carefully bend it down some and away from the T-stat housing just enough to pop the housing off it's lower stud.

[Lester Lugnut]

I appreciate the information

[acranox]

I did this. It was a chore. I've got the carb Accord.
There are two pipes between the intake and exhaust on my car, and both had to be removed. I did not remove the distributor though.
The key for me was two things. A plumbers pipe wrench to remove the larger of the two (The 'air suction pipe') and a crowfoot wrench for the EGR pipe.
I wrote about it on my car blog.
http://www.acranox.org/accord/?p=67

The job is not easy, but there weren't any real surprises for me, it just took a long time. I only had about 2 inches of room to move the pipe wrench, so I literally had to turn the nut about 1/16 of a turn, then take the wrench off, flip it around, and turn another 1/16 of a turn, and then repeat, and it took about 20 minutes off this before it was free.

BTW, while you've got the housing off, replace your heater hoses while you've got the easy access.

[Lester Lugnut]

acranox:

Thanks a million for the advise.

[POS carb]

my experience has been that those two pipes are the biggest pains in the ass that honda included in this econobox car.
They get in the way of everything, the EGR gets hot, and they are damn near impossible to thread back on properly (at least on mine it was) I just cut the pipes off and plugged the holes. On the exhaust I rolled the end of the pipe like a tube of toothpaste and hammered a seal.

[Blkblurr]

Must be alot different on an injected one. I had no trouble with mine when I pulled the head off. The egr tube went right back on and took just a few minutes.

[mouchyn]

putting some kind of lubricant on the EGR threads when you're reinstalling the pipe helps if you're having trouble. it's usually a rust-on-rust problem that makes the nut hard to thread into the manifold.

it's also not a bad idea to use some sandpaper to clean that nut up some. just sand it down to knock off rust and stuff. wet your finger with some engine oil and rub it on the threads. it should go back in with no problem.

make sure you thread the manifold nut before bolting up the EGR valve side.

[Lester Lugnut]

Well trying to remove a broken extractor proved to be an exercise in futility. I spoke with a couple of professional automotive technicians and both said to order a new housing. Did that at the local Honda dealer this am - $46.

To remove it I had to remove distributor and the 2 t-stat housing nuts that are fastened with a 12mm wrench. The one on top was easy, but the one below took awhile. There's some EGR type connections back there. I found that by loosening the one that uses a 24mm wrench, I could simply pull it out and by doing that, I gained enough clearance to more easily reach and remove the lower 12mm nut.

I sprayed everything I thought I was going to have to loosen with PB Blaster every day for a couple of days prior to removal in order to let it soak in. Having done so, the 24mm EGR connection broke loose easily.

Thanks for all of the advise and comments.