lower bolt on thermostat housing.

[MiltonHavoc]

Grrr.
ok now that thats out the way.

so what are you guys doing to get to it. Im trying not to remove the dizzy but if its necessary.....

For me that hard pipe that is directly below it is in the way. but it seems like it would be a task to remove.
Also, out of curiosity: what is it?

and what is the thing with the accordian boot on it just to the drivers side of that bolt?

If I have to remove the dizzy, what is the firing order just in case?

[crazyrog17]

lower bolt on thermostat housing.

Assuming you have a manual transmission, that's the clutch cable. The boot keeps water out so it won't rust. The pipe is a coolant bypass line. Extensions on my 1/4" ratchet get that 12mm bolt out pretty easy with everything in the way

[MiltonHavoc]

Auto trans.
That hard pipe keeps my socket from seating.

[Bert]

Maybe I haven't tangled with the thermostat on my only ATX but I doubt it (have had it for 8 years and 125,000 more km now), certainly my MTX cars are relatively easy to get at with a long extension on a 1/4 drive socket. Keep trying. Haven't heard anybody else on this forum complain about that bolt being inaccessible.

[sc72]

MiltonH, use a scratch awl, mark where the dizzy is and pull it, don't waste time trying to work around it, mark it, pull it, do your work, reinstall, your done. The trick is not to move the dizzy when you pull it, make a mental note or simply mark it. Good luck

[GenevaDirt]

no need for the firing order.....undo the cap and set it to the side...do not remove the wires. Then as mentioned above mark the dizzy and pull it. Then reinstall and line up the marks. Done.

[blueoval]

good luck getting the bolt out without it breaking off

[GenevaDirt]

good luck getting the bolt out without it breaking off

I have never had an issue on any of the Festy's I have owned.....should not be an issue unless there is an issue to begin with.

[Spike]

I've done the thermo three times (messed up the first, then ended up replacing THAT ONE with a two-stage) on the auto. I just used a long extension, removed the dist. cap (keeping the wires ON), squeezed my big hands in there, and took it off. It takes a lot of yelling, banging things, and crying, but it's a 20-min job tops for me. Last time was.. under 10min, I think.

Getting it back in is the main trouble.. I use just the bolt + the extension to get it in and started, then put the ratchet back on to tighten it up (there's no room to put the ratchet on until the bolt's started).

Good luck!

~Joe