How to Replace the Thermostat in a 95 Chrysler Cirrus LX
by Kyle McBrideA while back, I replaced the thermostat in my 1995 Chrysler Cirrus with the 2.4-liter engine, so when my friend wanted to replace the one in his same-year Cirrus, we considered me the expert and dove into the project. I discovered, however, that there are a couple of differences between my 2.4-liter engine and his 2.0-liter engine, but it was nothing we couldn't overcome.
Replacing the Thermostat
We used the jacking points on the body molding behind the front wheels to jack and support the car. Both engines mount the thermostat inside the housing that also has the radiator cap. That makes it easy -- once I found the radiator cap, I found the thermostat housing. The thermostat in my 2.4-liter engine sat vertically inside the housing -- no surprise. On the other hand, the thermostat in my friend's 2.0-liter engine mounted horizontally inside the housing. On his engine, we had to make sure the vent on the thermostat was facing up when we installed it. I'd tightened the housing bolts on my engine to 110 inch-pounds, but on the 2.0-liter, we had to tightened them to 16 foot-pounds -- and be very careful not to over-tighten them lest we crack the housing. To refill the system, we used about a gallon and a half of ethylene glycol coolant mixed in a 50/50 solution. I found out later that technical service bulletin No. 07-03-97 issued in May 1997, stated that propylene glycol coolant is okay to use, too.
