Toyota car and truck forums

Need to replace thermostat---where is it? also when we start the car it will smoke and may not do it again til the next morning please help

Hate to say it, but you might want to visit corolland.com for help with Corollas!

Thermostat is to the right of the alternator, and left of the intake manifold. Just look for where the lower radiator hose runs to a housing on the front of the engine, that housing will have a sensor and associated wiring attached to the end.

Need a bit more information on the car and smoke on startup. How many miles do you have on this 2006? Following and keeping up with normal maintenance? What color is the smoke? How much is there - how long does it continue? Is there a noticeable odor to it - oil, gasoline, sweet, acrid, etc.? Anything else seems to be out of the ordinary - check engine lights, oil consumption, poor fuel economy, rough idle, poor driveability, no heat from heater, windows fogging up, etc.?

Might be related to why you are wanting to replace the thermostat? Do you know the thermostat is truely faulty, or is this part of your diagnostic process?

Like Dave mentioned, you can take this discussion to Corolland - the sister site of Toyoland that deals mainly with Corollas. Or we can continue with this topic here.

Thanks I will

Thanks for your input the car has little over 62k, the smoke just started recently,as did the feel of no heat.We do our regular oil changes&any mainteance thats needed.oh the smoke is light color

When you say "light" color - does it have a blue tint, gray tint, or looks white?

Does the smoke dissipate quickly, as soon as it comes out of the tailpipe or does it seem to linger for some time?

Does the smoke go away after a few seconds, minutes, after startup?

Does it smoke after the car warms up?

Is there any signs of coolant loss?

How is the level of the coolant in the coolant recovery tank?

Waterpump or underhood components showing any signs of pink-ish "crust" like formations?

What is the condition of the serpentine belt

If you are losing heat, the smoke has a white color, tends to linger for some time and sometimes has a "sweet" odor about it - good chance that you have a headgasket issue or other coolant contamination getting into the combustion chamber.

If this seems to only happen after the car fully warms up and the temperature gauge seems stuck or reads more than halfway on the scale - could be a circulation issue causing overheating, and eventually lead to a headgasket issue.

Thermostat failing at 62K miles is unusual. What coolant is in the car - Toyota Red coolant (older long-life coolant - usually sold as 100% coolant), Toyota Pink coolant (newer extended service coolant - usually sold as a pre-mixed 50/50 coolant), or some other coolant (hopefully not, as it could damage the water pump if not compatible). There has been cases of early water pump failures in this generation of Corolla, but fairly limited in number. Cant always goes by the temperature gauge as if the temp goes off-scale, there could be a situation where the ECM gets confused and report the temp as "normal" - this can also be related to a coolant temperature sensor failure (can also show temperature to be "normal"). Basically have to watch the temp gauge like a hawk and note any gross fluctuations of the coolant temperature.

the smoke has a blue tint---it lasts for a few seconds--we did add 50/50 coolant yesterday---seems it may not be thermostat as it heated fine after we added coolant----however still concerned about the smoke & whatever may be the problem

the car does not smoke after a few seconds,It may not smoke until the next morning when I start it again

How do you get the cover off of the spark plugs.Do i need a special tool to remove the two plastic caps?

How do I get the plastic cover off of the spark plugs.Do Ineed a special tool to remove the two plastic nuts.I dont want to break them off.

Just use some needle nose pliers and slowly "unscrew" them. Will not be easy - those are comb-type clips, those are designed to fasten securely, removing them will have a chance to break the clips.

I broke mine off years ago - a little bit of the plastic got stuck in the valvecover. I later dug that out and got metric screws to take their place (I just matched up the front bolts). Now, I just drive without the engine garnish - doesnt hurt the engine at all. Been that way for little more than 100K miles.

Sounds like the valve seals are leaking on you. Typically, this will cause a light blue tinted smoke to exhaust anywhere from several seconds to several minutes. Subsequent driving will produce no further blue tinted smoke, until the car is allowed to sit overnight. Then the oil will have a chance to drive down the valve into the combustion chamber. Generally, the longer the car sits - the more smoke is produced.

Leaking valves seals can be caused by a number of things - out of viscosity oil, infrequeny oil changes, overheating issue, excessive wear, faulty seals, even just sitting too long. Sometimes switching to a different brand of motor oil will "fix" this problem, as certain additives might help soften hardened seals or their additive pack complements the engine's lubrication needs.