I would like to know why is there a small 1/8 hole just below the thermostat housing this where I have fluid running from

When does the vehicle over heat?

Hello scrammy25,
I first, would like to apologize for the delay in my reponse to your question. Second, I have never replaced the thermostat on your make and model, however it's very simple.
1. Locate the top radiator hose2. Follow it to the block - you should a (bubble/round shaped object (thermostat housing) at the block side of the top radiator hose). This is where your thermostat should be located.3. Most thermostat housings have two to three bolts that secure it. Before removing it, it's a good idea to locate the petcock on bottom of the radiator and drain some (or all if you are replacing the fluid as well {good idea} ) of the fluid. 4. Remove the bolts (if readily accessible) and lightly twist and pull up on the housing. Sometimes it's necessary to use a small screwdriver to lightly pry up the housing as it may be "stuck" to the block - but be very careful doing this as not to "gouge" the surface of the housing or block, as this can create a potential leak. 5. Once this is removed, clean both the surface of the housing and the block, making sure the block is as dry as possible (some water will sit, and lightly spill over, this is okay). 6. With the housing surface clean, dry and free of all remains of the old gasket (use a straight blade from a box knife or such for lightly scrapping excess gasket), apply a thin coat of gasket sealer to the surface - place the gasket on, let dry for about 10-15 minutes. While waiting, apply a small coat of gasket sealer to the block side (where thermostat sits) and let dry as well 10-15 minutes. Remember, make sure not to use too much, as this can create "raised" areas, which will create a leak. 7. Once both surfaces have dried, insert the thermostat in it's correct placement - (spring side down, point (top looking side) up). Gently place the housing over the thermostat, and insert both bolts, tightening my hand first, then snug them with your wrench or ratchet. NOTE: Do not "over, or under-tighten these" as either can cause a leak as well - as soon you feel "tension" on the bolts, give them a quarter turn, then stop.
Once you have done this, let set for another 10-15 minutes, while you refill the radiator (if drained). Start engine (hose is on and secure to housing, if removed or loosened) and let engine reach operating temperature - watch the level of fluid in radiator (cap off, this is okay) and add as necessary. If you released any fluid, and added while engine was off, when starting the engine, the fluid level may drop once the thermostat is open at operating temperature, and if so, add water (or antifreeze) as necessary to fill (with engine running). Once the level remains steady, put cap back on radiator, and let engine run inspecting for leaks in all areas.
Please let me know if you have further questions,
carsandcomps

if you follow the upper radiator hose to where it connects to the engine. drain anti freeze a
little(to get below hose,remove hose from thermostat housing,remove 2 bolts & remove housing
the thermostat will pull out.make sure you install the same way(spring end toward engine)
if new thermo has a small hole in it(some do)make sure its up 12 o'clock position.
reconnect & refill system.there are air bleeders in system 1 at thermo housing & possibly
1 around the water pump.after car is running you need to open bleeder to allow trapped
air out.CAR WILL OVER HEAT IF ITS NOT BLED
top off system after bleeding

good luck

1st check to see if the hose to the thermostat housing is tight, if so, then check the thermostat housing to see if anti freeze is leaking from that area, if so replace the gasket, or try tightning down the bolts, but don't over do it with the tightening, if that area is ok, then check to see if antifreeze is leaking from water pump, start vehicle and let run, and observe the pump for any leakage, do not get close to the fan area, most of the time when water pumps go bad , they have a small hole in the bottom of the pump, this is called a weep hole, this is a true sign that the bearing and seal in the pump is wearing out, hope that this information has helped.

Hello,
Yes, it could be the thermostat, and yes it is pretty easy to fix. Here's how.

The location of the thermostat for most vehicle.

Stand in front of the car with the hood open, you'll see a black hose hooked to the upper side of the
radiator.( about 2 inch in diameter, newer vehicles about 1 and 1/2 inch, and newer small cars
about 1 and 1/4 inch. ) Follow the hose to the other end, it connects to the thermostat housing.
The thermostat is inside of the housing.( the hose usually goes to the air intake manifold, but some housings are on the side or back of the engine. )

How to test the thermostat in most vehicles;

Make sure the heater is off, start the engine and let it run for 6 to 8 minutes, ( this will allow the
engine to reach, " normal operating temperature "), from the inside of the vehicle turn the heater
temperature on high and turn the fan speed on high.
1. Listen very closely for a click sound from the engine, ( most thermostats make a click when
they open )
2. Watch your temperature guage, it should begin to lower as the coolant starts to circulate.
3. Usually within a few minutes the radiator fan will kick.

To replace the thermostat in most vehicles yourself;

Remove the hose from the housing, then remove bolts from the housing and lift the housing off
to access the thermostat. Pay attention to witch side is up on the thermostat that you remove, the
new one will have to go in the same way. Also look at the temperature rating that is stamped into
the thermostat that you take out, and make sure the new one has the same temperature rating.
(failure to do so can cause false readings by some sensors, and may start triggering error codes)

Install new thermostat, right side up, put housing back on and bolt back down, hook hose back on
to the housing. Check the coolant level. Start the engine and let it run for 6 to 8 minutes to reach,
"normal operating temperature", and look for any leaking. before you turn the engine off turn your
heater wide open and listen for a click. Most of the time when a thermostat opens you can hear a
click and may hear the coolant flowing through the system. Shut the engine off, wait for it to cool
down and then check your coolant level one more time. ( do not fill all the way up, only fill to
FULL line on resrvior.)

What the thermostat does;

It seperates your coolant into two parts. The first part is in your engine, the second part is in your
radiator and the coolant reservior. When the coolant in the engine reaches the temperature rating
on the thermostat the thermostat opens to allow the two parts of coolant to change places. Now
the cooled coolant in the radiator and reservior flows into the engine while the heated coolant flows
from the engine into the radiator and reservior to be air cooled by the radiator fan.

I hope this helps you.

JUST DRAIN COOLANT LEVEL BELOW THE THERMOSTAT. CATCH COOLANT IN A DRAIN PAN UNDER RADIATOR.THEN REMOVE RADIATOR HOSE FROM THERMOSTAT HOUSING ON THE CYLINDER BLOCK.THEN REMOVE THERMOSTAT HOUSING AND THERMOSTAT.CLEAN THERMOSTAT HOUSING SURFACE AND THERMOSTAT HOUSING SEALING SURFACE ON CYLINDER HEAD.INSTALL NEW THERMOSTAT IN PLACE,MAKE SURE THERMOSTAT AIR BLEED HOLE FACING LEFT SIDE UPWARD ON THE ENGINE.SOME THERMOSTAT HAS TOP STAMPED ON IT.MEANING MUST BE FACING UP.WHEN THERMOSTAT IN PLACE.TAKE NEW THERMOSTAT GASKET.PUT SEALER ON BOTH SIDES OF GASKET.THEN.PUT GASKET ON THERMOSTAT HOUSING.THEN PUT HOUSING IN PLACE TORQUE HOUSING BOLTS 16 - 20 FT LBS.WAIT 1 HOUR UNTIL GASKET SEALER CURE.THEN FILL UP COOLANT SYSTEM.BLEED COOLANT SYSTEM AND CHECK FOR LEAKS.

water pump failure, water pump on these run off the timing chain and the timing chain runs in oil, so they could not just put a weep hole on the pump because it would go strait to the oil pan, instead they redirected the coolant from the leaking pump to just below the thermostat housing. And good luck, it's at least a 6 hour job on these. Brandon-MO

Hi to change your thermostat ..disconnect your battery .follow the top rad hose to you motor .where the hose connects to the top of your motor there is a thermostat under neath the thermostat housing remove rad cap ..when cool only ....drain rad ,bottom of your rad there is a bleeder . use a good leak proof container to keep antifreeze from going on the ground ...if you spill any ..make sure you wipe it all up ...it is very poisonous to small animals ect
You will have to gain access to your thermostat ,so remove all things that are in the area where the hose goes too ...the motor .First remove the hose connected to the thermostat housing ..remove thermostat housing ...usually a few bolts ....under neath there is a thermostat ....and a gasket ..once you remove the thermostat ....be sure to put the new one back the same way you took the old one out ....plug the hole with a small rag ....any extra rad fluid spilling on the motor ect ...wipe it up it is corrosive ...to wires ect
Before changing the new thermostat ...use a scraper to clean the area where the gasket sits ,put a small cloth in the whole before you clean to make sure you don't leave any dirt in the hole ...i usually use a shop vac to clean the area after i finish scraping the area ...
buy a good gasket sealant ...new thermostat should come with new gasket ....put new gasket sealant on the gasket so it will not move while trying to install the thermostat housing,be sure to line up the holes in the gasket ...to where the bolts will be installed later . Place new thermostat in then your new gasket ..in the hole .also remember to clean the thermostat housing too ...before reinstalling ....tighten bolts by hand first hand ,use a ratchet....after tightening ....tighten about a half turn ...don't over tighten ,you could break the bolts ,and it's not good to over tighten because of the new gasket also ...put back rad hose to thermostat housing tighten well ,then tighten bleeder on rad ...if you havent changed your antifreexe in some time, buy new antifreeze ..if you are not sure how to mix it ..buy pre mixed antifreeze,fill rad ,connect battery ...start motor ....set heating controls to max ...and blower to the highest setting ,keep filling rad while motor heats up ..it will bubble some ....once you feel the rad is completly filled ...put rad cap on properly ...in your resorvior where you put antifreeze in, fill it to where it should be filled too ..there is usullay a mark to tell how much it can be filled to .check inside your vehicle to see if ther effecient heat comming out your vents .it might take a few days or so for the air to come out of the rad ...ect ....also in a day ..check to see if there are any leaks ...tighten things up more if need be .....
good luck ...let me know how you make out ...
Just to let you know ...you can buy an all season thermostat so you will not have to change it every different season from summer to winter ....

Follow the large hose coming out of the top of the radiator. That should take you to the thermostat housing. You need to place a container under the drain spigot on the radiator and drain a gallon or so of coolant from the radiator so that coolant doesn't run out when you remove the housing. Remove the housing (usually don't need to remove hose) and scrap clean both surfaces of the housing and the block. Take not of the position of the gasket and thermostat you are removing. Replace thermostat, put a small amount of gasket sealing material on both surfaces, put new gasket on and tighten the housing back down. Some engines have a small plug in the housing. You have to remove the plug as you replace coolant back into the motor until you see coolant running out of the hole and then put the plug back in.
Here is a video that show the gist of changing one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIC6Z4D6Q3E

Remove cap radiator when cold
Drain radiator well below thermostat level.
Disconnect rubberhose from thermostat housing to radiator. Do this at radiator side first cautious to prevent blocked fluid to run over engine . Undo radiator housing cover. Be sure to have new spare gasket. And right type new thermostat with corresponding temperature opening rating.
Take out thermostat. Put new one in in the good position not reversed down (it opens at temperaturing pupping upwards. Check for presence of de-airation hole with little valve.
Put gasket and cover . Tighten the bolts without killing them. Fill radiator to level. Leave a while do de-air leveling over that little hole valve in thermostat I mentioned. I necessarry fill again.

Whilst doing this job be sure the seizure of old thermostat was not due to broken down cooling pump, broken radior fan with activating switch on engine block. At times they go together.

Don't fill with pure water unless for backflushing system. Otherwise vapor bellows in th system will crack the engine block. Some hotspots exceed water vapor point!!