how do you change a sr20det thermostat

hey i need to install my nismo thermostat. where is the old one and how do i change it out

i think its connected to your lower rad hose…i cant remember lol

lower rad hose. there are 3 sqrews. just undo those. i used a few different kinds of gasket maker and it would constantly leak coolant. just got the gasket paper and it worked great.

I know I’m digging up an old thread, but I just changed out my thermostat and thought this would help some users out there.

I had a lot of trouble getting this to work without leaks. Here are the tricks I found:

  1. This area is really hard to get to if you have a stock SR20 fan and shroud. I would have saved time If I would have removed my fan shroud first. Then it would have made things easier to get to

  2. I had lots of boost hoses in the way that needed moving

  3. I had no luck with the regular permatex black gasket maker. When I used the orange stuff, it sealed up 100%

  4. the thermostat has to go into the housing vertically, which makes it especially tricky to get the thermostat to stay in its hole while you bolt on the exterior pipe with the three bolts. I found that to overcome this, a couple dobs of gasket maker helped hold the thermostat in place, and then using a generous bead around the external pipe fitting made things line up properly so I could bolt and torque everything down.

FYI the paper gasket can be bought at Canadian Tire. Ask for a 91 G20.

man this forum has truned into a NOB showdown… :oops: