How to install a thermostat for a Lada Granta on Kalina

Before you start doing anything with SOD, it is advisable to read the main points in this FAQ!

Important information about Kalina-1 SOD is here: https://www.lkforum.ru/showthread.php?t=41258

Diameters of hoses for the entire SOD (internal/external):

Heater radiator inlet hose (upper): 20 mm / 28 mm Heater radiator outlet hose (lower): 18 mm / 28 mm Throttle assembly heating hose (both): 10 mm / 19 mm Expansion tank hose (lower) - 20 mm / 28 mm Engine radiator steam removal hose - 8 mm / 14 mm Fluid supply hose to the engine radiator (upper) - 32 mm / 42 mm Fluid drain hose from the engine radiator (lower) - 36 mm / 46 mm Coolant pump supply pipe hose (bypass) – 32 mm / 42 mm

If you can’t go where you want, go where you can ©

I found some good looking reinforced hoses for sale Semperit TU 25 Oil/Air PN 25bar Made in EU

(in a simple rubber goods store opened in the USSR). Now we need to understand whether antifreeze will corrode them.

Please tell me, is it possible to heat antifreeze to a boil (on gas)? Will the purity of the experiment be affected? Is it enough to boil a piece of hose in antifreeze once?

I found some good looking reinforced hoses for sale Semperit TU 25 Oil/Air PN 25bar Made in EU

(in a simple rubber goods store opened in the USSR). Now we need to understand whether antifreeze will corrode them.

Please tell me, is it possible to heat antifreeze to a boil (on gas)? Will the purity of the experiment be affected? Is it enough to boil a piece of hose in antifreeze once?

A side effect of the operation of an internal combustion engine is heat; it is released due to the combustion of the combustible mixture when interacting with rubbing surfaces. If you do not take measures to remove heat from very hot parts, the entire motor will soon fail. Heat removal in water-cooled motors is carried out using coolant. The circulation pump moves fluid from the cylinder block to the radiator. The thermostat is responsible for quickly warming up to operating temperature; it separates two circuits (small and large). Separating the circuits serves to quickly heat the motor to operating temperature and prevent overheating. To prevent the liquid from boiling, the pump creates pressure in the cooling system. If everything is in order, then during normal operation it is impossible to overheat the power plant even on a summer day. If the temperature gauge needle is in the red zone, you should immediately check all components and mechanisms to avoid failure of the power plant.

Engine cooling system

The internal combustion engine must be intensively cooled. Without this, the unit will overheat and jam. The bulk of the “cooling energy” is required by the cylinder head and block. While small power engines can be cooled using an air flow, more powerful, multi-cylinder power plants cannot be brought to an optimal temperature without using a liquid cooling system.

It includes:

• a cooling jacket through which liquid flows, taking away excessive heat from the cylinders;
• a pump that forces antifreeze to move through the cooling system;
• a thermostat that regulates the temperature by adjusting the flow of coolant in a small or large circle;
• fan and radiator, causing the liquid to cool faster as it moves around a large cooling circle;
• heater radiator that heats the interior of the car;
• connecting hoses and pipes connecting all devices into a single cooling system.

As mentioned above, the thermostat is responsible for movement in a large or small circle. This device is a spring-loaded valve with a thermocouple placed in a housing with several pipes. Under the influence of high temperature, from +85 °C to +90 °C, the technical paraffin contained in the thermoelement expands and opens the valve. Antifreeze begins to flow through the opened hole in a large circle, cooling in the radiator. When the liquid cools, the valve falls into place and the coolant stops flowing into the large circle.

And the story will be about replacing the thermostat of a Lada Kalina car with a thermostat from a Lada Granta.

Briefly about these machines. Both models represent a small class of domestic passenger cars. Kalina was produced from 2004 to 2022, and then it was replaced by Granta. The article will discuss replacing the thermostat that is installed in Kalina with an 8-valve engine with a Lada Grant thermostat.

Eliminating air pockets in the radiator

Since the system in question is absolutely sealed, getting rid of air is not so easy. The car must be placed on any inclined surface with the front facing up (the steeper, the more effective). You should warm up the power unit until the second circulation circle opens, move the temperature regulator to the maximum position, direct the air flow into the cabin and activate the fan at second speed. Next, increasing the engine speed to 4.5-5 thousand, we hold it for some time.

Then the pedal is released until the idle speed appears. If the problem is not completely resolved, the procedure should be repeated.

Despite the fact that modern domestic cars have updated characteristics, some factory defects are still present. Modification of the cooling system on the Lada Kalina is available in several ways and helps to avoid the formation of air locks. Moreover, the procedure does not require significant financial investment.

Why change the Kalina thermostat to a Grantovsky device?

There can be only two reasons why the original thermostat installed on the Kalina is replaced with a device from Grant:

1. Firstly, this is engine overheating when the power plant temperature needle is around +100 °C. This mode of operation can lead to jamming of the pistons.
2. Secondly, there is insufficient heating of the interior in winter. In addition to the fact that it is uncomfortable to be in a cold car interior, this also causes the windows to freeze and you have to drive blindly. And this is a real danger to life.

This is due to the fact that the standard cooling system of the LADA Kalina does not know how to “de-air” itself. That is, if air gets into the small cooling circle, it will no longer be removed from the system. The process grows like an avalanche, air will continue to be sucked in constantly. This leads to the fact that the coolant does not flow to the radiator, the engine overheats, and cold air blows from the stove. The problem is solved by installing a thermostat from LADA Granta. As the owners of Kalina, who decided to take such a step, say, after reinstalling the thermostat, all problems were solved: the cabin became warm, and the engine temperature did not rise above +90 ° C.

If your car begins to overheat frequently, there may be several reasons for this:

• Thermostat. It is very simple to check its performance: on a warm engine, touch the lower and upper radiator hoses with your hand. If the latter turns out to be cold, and the lower one is barely warm, then, most likely, the thermostat is jammed, and the antifreeze circulates only in a small circle. In this case, the solution to the problem will be to install a new device in the car.
• Clogged radiator honeycombs. This is also one of the common causes of malfunctions in the cooling system. It occurs especially often in late May - early June, when annoying poplar fluff flies along the street. The solution to the problem is to clean the outer part of the radiator. This work often causes difficulties for car enthusiasts, but no other methods have yet been invented to solve clogged honeycombs. Therefore, everything is cleaned by hand.
• Faulty fan. If you notice that when the coolant heating level increases, this part does not turn on, you should check the temperature sensor, wiring and relay.
• Air in the cooling system. "Kalina", like any other car, is not immune to an airlock inside the SOD. And if in all previous cases the problem was solved very quickly, or at least clearly, then here car enthusiasts often have problems. Therefore, in order to fully explain the picture, below we will look at how such breakdowns are eliminated.

As you can see, malfunctions of the Kalina cooling system can be quite different. But in any case, overheating is not the best factor for the engine.

What is needed to reinstall the thermostat from Grant to Kalina

To bring the Kalina engine cooling system to optimal condition you will need:

1. Thermostat. You can easily pick it up at a car dealership with the help of consultants. However, please note that some models have a fitting for heating the throttle device, while others do not. It is better to take it with a fitting, otherwise you will have to perform additional operations to connect the heating hose to the stove pipe.
2. Some experts recommend changing the thermal insert on the Grant device. Supposedly this improves the operation of the thermostat. Others say it's a waste of time and money. If you wish, you can buy a thermocouple, for example, from. The fact that the device will be of this particular brand is not important. You can use thermal inserts from other manufacturers. The main thing here is characteristics and quality. Since the thermal insert assembly will not fit the thermostat from the Grant, you will need to remove the thermoelement from it. This can be done using a hacksaw for metal.

3. In addition to the above, to rearrange the thermostat you will need two studs from the camshaft bed of the “classic”: from VAZ-2101 to VAZ-2107. These fasteners will be needed to secure the Grant thermostat to the Kalina engine. Standard studs will not fit, since the size of the element being installed differs from that installed at the factory.
4. Stove pipes. In principle, their replacement may not be necessary. But practice shows that a long service life leads to the fact that it is better to replace them once work has begun on the cooling and heating system. You will also need a tee, which will need to be cut into the lower pipe of the stove.
5. Lower radiator pipe from LADA Granta.
6. Expansion tank pipe. It fits both Grant and the “ten”.
7. Sealant, clamps and gaskets.

Once everything is prepared, you can proceed to installing the new thermostat. But for this it is still necessary to carry out preparatory measures.

Traditional Troubleshooting Methods

To solve the problem of airing, you should open the expansion tank, start the engine, press the gas pedal several times until the sensor arrow reaches the red zone. If the fan turns on, you need to squeeze the gas all the way several times and turn off the ignition. If this method is ineffective, the following procedure is used. The plastic motor protection is removed, the clamp is lowered and one of the fitting tubes is dismantled. The expansion tank cap is opened and the system is purged until coolant begins to pour out of the removed tube.

Preparing to install the thermostat

First you need to remove the standard Kalina thermostat. Before this, the battery, air filter and pipe leading to the gas throttle are removed. Having finished with the air filter, begin to drain the antifreeze from the cooling system. It is better to place a basin under the engine, so the coolant will not spill.

After loosening the clamps, remove all pipes from the thermostat. Then they begin to unscrew the nuts on the studs. Unscrew the nuts and remove the thermostat. This completes the procedure for dismantling the old device. Preparations begin for installing the thermostat from the Granta car. To do this, you need to unscrew the old studs. This is easy to do with a hairpin driver, but if you don’t have such a wrench, you just need to screw a nut onto the hairpin, and then another one. Pull them tightly and unscrew them using a regular wrench. After removing the old studs, clean the thermostat installation site from old sealant and gasket residues. This is where the preparation ends.

How to improve SOD?

At the moment, there are several ways to improve ODS:

1. Reworking the cooling system. “Kalina” in this case is equipped with a new 6-hole thermostat. This action will make maintaining the temperature of the antifreeze in the system more stable, and will also normalize the operation of the heating elements of the cabin.
2. To reduce cooling system malfunctions, the Lada Kalina is equipped with a coolant filter.
3. Installation of the stove faucet.
4. Additional pump in the engine cooling system. It will not only prevent you from freezing in your car during winter cold, but will also force antifreeze to circulate faster through the channels, which will significantly reduce the risk of engine overheating.

So, we found out how the cooling system in the VAZ Kalina is designed, what problems can arise with it, and how to fix these problems.

Installation of a thermostat from Grant

Before installing a new temperature-maintaining device, the studs from the camshaft of “classic” VAZ models are screwed in. All heels have triangular cutouts at one end. This is how manufacturers mark the end that screws into the engine block. Sealant is applied to the junction of the thermostat and the engine and a gasket is installed. The following installation steps:

1. The thermostat is mounted on studs and screwed with nuts.
2. A pipe is removed from the lower outlet of the stove in order to insert a tee into it, another outlet of which will be connected by a pipe to the expansion tank.

3. After completing this procedure, the pipe is put in place, connecting the thermostat and the stove. A pipe leading to the expansion tank is put on the outlet of the tee and secured with a clamp. Air will be removed from the cooling system through it.
4. A Grant hose is installed, running from the lower radiator pipe to the thermostat. It fits almost perfectly, so there is no need to lengthen or shorten anything.
5. All that remains is to secure all the pipes with clamps, install the air filter, battery and add antifreeze.

If everything is done correctly, the engine will stop heating and will not raise the temperature needle close to critical values. And the car interior will be warm, even in the coldest weather.

Important points of improvement

Coolant is considered a toxic substance that adversely affects human health. Auto mechanics recommend draining antifreeze with caution. When carrying out this procedure, you need to remember safety precautions and use rubber gloves. The antifreeze is drained when the engine is cold. Then the tube is put on the fitting, the clamps are tightened. Air masses have been successfully removed from the system under consideration.