would anyone be able to help me out locating my thermostat. i have talked to a mechanic and he was saying the it is behind the water pump there for the timing belt and water pump would need to be taken off to get to it! is this true?

 

Essentially this gets done when the timing belt is done. But if the t-stat fails after a recent job on a timing belt, the t-stat can be replaced without removing the timing belt, but it does require to remove the front end of the car. A good mechanic can do it with the front end in service position.

If you havent already, might as well get a timing belt change along with everything else in there. Water pump, serpentine belt etc..

 

If you look on youtube there are a couple videos on how to do it. It does involve removing the timing belt, and removing the front end of the car into the service position.