1997 GrandAm GT Thermostat change

Hi All. I noticed that my 1997 GrandAm was over heating and the low coolant sign was on since last evening. I took it to the mechanic this afternoon, and after a couple of hours, he told me that the fans are working fine. He said that I need to replace my thermostat, but it would cost $160.00 . Is he trying to rip me off? Of all the posts I read on this website, I gather its not too tough to replace the thermostat. I am not a mechanic, but would like to know how much time it takes to replace the thermostat. My mechanic quoted 1 1/2 hours for the replacement.

If after changing the thermostat the car still heats up, what else could be the problem?

Will appreciate all the help. I am not in a position to spend a lot of money on the car right now.

What size engine?

What size engine?
Its a 3.1L 6 Cylinder engine

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/0e/54/19/0900823d800e5419.jsp


I don't know if this helps much, but our '96, is on the R side of engine as you face it towards the car. The thing is buried under the air intake hose, and there are several other hoses, etc. to remove before ya can even find the bolts. They are a pain to get to.

it will take you a couple hours easy you need to take off the air intake its very crowded you can only get a wrench on the bottom bolt but you only have to loosen that one take the top one out wiggle it through and swap them out

Easiest way is to remove the throttle body.....you will need a new throttle body gasket.....

However, I don't think that is necessarily your problem.......if you are losing coolant, an airpocket could be formed, causing an overheating problem....was the vehicle checked for external leaks, especially at the lower intake gaskets?