Mark: Hi, it's Mark. I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC Canada, Vancouver's best auto service experience, and we're talking cars. How you doing, Bernie?
Bernie: Doing very well.
Mark: So today's guest is a 2011 Volvo C30. What was going on with this vehicle?
Bernie: So this vehicle had a few issues that it came to our shop to address, and one of them was a check engine light was on. So we proceeded to do our diagnostics and testing found there was one trouble code stored in the vehicle, P0128 the thermostat operation problem.
Mark: So a thermostat. What does a thermostat actually do?
Bernie: So what it does is it allows the engine to warm up quickly. An internal combustion engine, it's best to operate at a warm temperature somewhere, just under the boiling point of water, maybe around, 190, 200 degrees Fahrenheit, 90, 95 Celsius kind of thing. That's a good operating temperature. So the thermostat keeps the coolant flowing through the engine until it reaches that temperature, then it opens up and flows cooling into the radiator so the engine doesn't overheat. So you don't want it to open too soon because otherwise the engine doesn't warm up properly and that creates other issues.
Mark: So is it involved in the operation of the fan to help the radiator fan?
Bernie: It does. Ideally, the radiator fan, the way cooling system works, the thermostat will open up and then it'll flow cool into the radiator. Then once the engine's quite warm and say, the air's warm outside, it's not wintertime, it's summer, it'll need additional cooling. That's why there's a fan. Most cars have electric fans these days. So once the temperature reaches a certain amount, say 205 Fahrenheit, the fan clicks on, cools down, then comes back on and off as it needs to.
Mark: And sometimes you'll hear it running after you shut the engine off. The fans are running.
Bernie: Yeah. They actually put that on some cars to cool the cooling system down. Some vehicles actually have electric water pumps that'll flow coolant to keep the coolant flowing through the system so it doesn't get hot pockets in the system. Things are pretty sophisticated compared to what they used to be.
Mark: Yeah, I remember it was 10 bucks for a new thermostat and 20 minutes worth of work to swap it out and you're good for another 10 years.
Bernie: Yeah. Not so easy nowadays. Many of them are a little complicated to remove. And like I say, the check engine light will warn you when it's on. And in the olden days, sometimes you wouldn't know you needed a thermostat other than the engine would either be overheating. Or maybe if it's stuck open like it was the case with this Volvo, you just get no heat in the vehicle in the wintertime. You go, okay, there's the thermostat's probably stuck open.
Mark: So here's our vehicle. 2011. This sort of looks like a famous Volvo, doesn't it? The old style Simon Templar, the Saint Volvo.
Bernie: It's a good car. We work on quite a few of these and 2011 is now what's that, like 14, 15 years old at this point. They keep going in pretty good shape these days.
There's our view of the engine. That's the engine compartment there. The front right bottom corner, that's the air filter housing assembly. There's an intake plenum up above it. The thermostat is buried down underneath all this stuff here. So this thing's to be removed, which you'll see in a moment.
And that's with the air filter box removed. And a few other items. And the thermostat, which I think you're gonna point out is right there. So this is an assembly. You mentioned about the $10 thermostat from the past. That was just the thermostat. Nowadays, on most cars, when you have a thermostat, it's a plastic assembly that bolts up to the engine with connections to hoses and sometimes it has an electrical connection on it. Sometimes that's a sensor. There's actually electrical heaters that go to the thermostats as well. So some of them get quite complicated. But the thermostats inside of that. So when you have this particular issue, you replace that whole unit. Of course it's more money than 10 bucks. Naturally, like most modern cars.
Mark: There's a lot more stuff to remove than there used to be too.
Bernie:There is too. Yeah. The labour is much more intense. So again, you can see the thermostat from this view. Couple other interesting things below that, that sort of round item, that's the starter motor. Again, if you're doing a starter yeah to your right, just right below the thermostat.
Mark: Oh, right here. Yeah.
Bernie: Starter motor. Yeah. Again, you'd have to remove this intake, system to get the starter out. And then to the left of that, there's another round item, yeah, that's the oil filter housing. So that can be removed without taking the air filter box out. because obviously you have to change the oil and don't wanna make it too complicated.
Mark: He said with his tongue in cheek.
Bernie: Yeah. You need long extensions and things to do it. We have the tools. Anyways that's the thermostat removed. So you can see it bolts up to the engine block, coolant flows in, and there's two hoses that are sitting there without a thermostat connected. So basically the thermostat just allows flow to go from the engine block out to different areas and that's basically how it works.
Mark: So ultimately, after all the stuff's out of the way, a pretty simple exchange, but not an inexpensive repair?
Bernie: Yeah. I don't know the dollar amounts, but it's a, a couple hours worth of work and the part's more expensive than 10 bucks as I mentioned, but, some of them can be like $50. Some of them can be like a couple hundred. She had a BM BMW a while ago. They didn't even call it a thermostat anymore. It was like a temperature management unit or something. It was like a $800. And a lot more labour to get out. So this Volvo is actually on the scheme of modern thermostats. Not too bad.
Mark: So are they getting more complicated as they're getting newer and newer?
Bernie: Some cars, they try to manage the coolant flow, like say in this BMW, it did a couple other things than just being a simple thermostat. But proper temperature management is really critical and it's way more important than it used to be. And you and I talked before we turned the camera on here about removing the thermostat when you were in Hawaii. That was a thing people used to do too. It's summertime, oh, it's too warm. You just take the thermostat out, it prevents the engine overheating. And back then engines were just much cruder it didn't really matter. But nowadays, everything needs to be at a certain operating temperature and, permissions, performance, the whole thing. Longevity too. So it's all important.
Mark: If you're looking for service for your Volvo or you got a problem with your thermostat, the guys to see are at Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC Canada. You can book online at pawlikautomotive.com. They'll call you. They'll get ready for your inspection and find out exactly what's going on, fix the root of the problem. Or you can call them to book (604) 327-7112. You have to book ahead. They're always busy. Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Thanks so much for watching and listening. Thanks Bernie.
Bernie: Thank you, Mark. Thanks for watching.
