any ideas? it looks to be pretty well set onto the head, and im really needing to change the thermostat in it at the moment but am having chance in buckleys trying to get the damn thing off!

any ideas would be most welcome...

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Here am I sitting in my tin can far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do...



“A turbo: exhaust gasses go into the turbocharger and spin it, witchcraft happens and you go faster.” - Jeremy Clarkson

an idea if you cant get it off with your hands would be a flat nose screw driver carefully id say once you break the seal that first bit the rest should come off by hand....thats what i would do any way.

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1964 smooth roof panel van
1967 Mk 1 X-Police cooper s
1970 mini k
1975 leyland

The alloy thermostat housing and the steel studs do not like each other.
The resulting corrosion can lock the housing to the studs. When this happens they can be almost impossible to get off without braking the housing or the studs (or both) I have had this happen.

Lots of WD40 (or better) and maybe a bit of heat.

Be carefull and have spare parts on standby.

2 rules of diy mechanics.

rule 1, if it doesn't move and should use wd40.

rule 2, if it does move and shouldn't use duct tape.

rule 3- if all else fails use anglegrinder, cut vertically, next to studs. Fit new housing, they are cheap.

I use 3 Unbrako bolts now not studs, when you undo them any corrosion gets broken away.
I dip the bolt threads in #3 gasket cement, it stops them rusting. Old outboard mechanics trick.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

take the Studs out. Double Nut them and lock them together and remove each stud and you should have no troubles

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

As the Doc said, angle grinder + BFH





If it was that corroded you should be replacing it anyway

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Too many cars, and too little time.

well what i would do is grab a hammer and smack it fair in the middl so it splits then from there on smooth sailing but only do that as a last resort try spliting from the head with a screwdriver or a cold chisel if u have one

If you do try to get it off in one piece, don't be afraid of tightening it a wee bit to break the seal. You can go backwards and forwards, each time loosening it off a little bit further as you go.

Hope that all made sense. That's what the mechanic did on another car of mine. The bolt had been in the alloy water pump housing for 34 years before we came along and decided we wanted it out. Nothing was broken in the process, but it did take quite a bit of time and a lot of patience to get it out.

what kinda bit are you using there awdmoke?

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Tungsten carbide tipped alloy blade. Great for cutting alloy bar & sections.
Not really necessary for that kind of hack job, but makes fast work of it.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

bfh i say show that sucker whos boss!

I had a slight corrosion problem on mine just needed lots of wd40, hammer, screw driver and a lot of patients

The last thing we need is another patient!!

The patient application of WD40 and some gentle tapping around the side of the thermo housing with (say) a brass drift usually frees up the stud and corrosions grip on the housing.

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"Show me the Mini!"

Try using laundry "Preen", it unsticks things like nothing else.