Thermostat removal on a Fiesta 1.3 (Endura-E engine Oct 1995 - Mar 2002)

Since the cooling system needs to be flushed before fitting a new heater valve I decided to change the thermostat as well. As you may have seen in my other videos regarding thermostat housing leaks on the Fiesta and Ka, these Endura-E OHV engines are reliable but only with regular servicing - and that includes coolant level checks and two year change intervals. The Endura-E is basically a tweaked version of Fords ancient pushrod OHV lump which means an iron block and head. This is why coolant of the correct specification and strength needs to be used to prevent scale and rust build up within the cooling channels and radiator. Fiestas and Ka's from mid nineties up to 2002 need the long life orange coloured antifreeze. (Check your manual for exact type).
In the video you can see how gunged up the thermostat was plus it was leaking past the housing and onto number one spark plug which can rust solid into the head if not sorted out.
In the next video I will show the installation of the thermostat AND the new heater valve and refilling & bleeding the cooling system.
Stay tuned for more videos coming soon.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Thermostat removal
• Heater valve
• Ford Fiesta
• Heater valve stripdown
• Ka heater failure
• Puma heater failure
• Fiesta heater failure
• Endura-E
• OHV engine
• TK42138 tutorials
• DIY car repair
• Car servicing
• Fix it yourself
• Ebay
• directsupplies1
• Look after your car
• Thermostat
• 1999 Fiesta Endura-E
• Heater valve removal Part 1
• Heater valve removal Part 2

[TK42138]

@DreadLaw2

On these cars, if the heater doesn't work then it's likely to be the heater valve which depends on a solenoid to open or close depending on position of rotary switch. The matrix is always full of water no matter what the heat setting is. All the heater valve does is vary the flow rate through the matrix. Hi flow means more heat transfer to matrix. The matrix is vertical so you don't have to drain it to change the heater valve but you will have to partially drain cooling system.

[DreadLaw2]

@TK42138 Thanks, that is great advice! Apologies for asking for even more of your time, but I too have a heater problem, and I think the valve is stuck closed. Will the heater be full of coolant when i remove the Heater valve because it can't pass through it during the drain?

[TK42138]

@DreadLaw2

You don't have to drain all the coolant but you will have to partially drain it down low enough so that the level drops to same level as the thermostat housing/cylinder head. Since the heater matrix sits higher than the thermostat you will lose coolant if you remove the large hose from the thermostat cover without partially draining it first.

[DreadLaw2]

Thanks for this great video! Is it possible to remove the thermostat without draining the coolant? Becase someone claims to have done that to my car, and I don't want to remove the thermostat housing and have to replace the gasket again if they really have.