I hope someone can help me out with a quick question. Trying to get the truck back together tonight so I can drive it tomorrow morning. It's a 1997 F150 4.6 4x4. I just finished a headgasket job on the and all is good except I've got a leak from the thermostat housing. No plastic intake, no cracks in the aluminum housing. My memory failed me when I was putting it back in though so I can't remember how it was sealed and I threw out the old stuff a few weeks ago.

I've got two different types of o-rings from two different parts stores. One of them is a orange o-ring, about the same size as the opening the thermostat drops into. The other is a split o-ring that fits around the edge of the thermostat. When I put the split o-ring on, it increases the diameter of the thermostat too much and it won't go into the hole. When I put the orange regular o-ring on the housing, it acts like it's going to spit the o-ring out the side and cut it if I continue to tighten it.

I have to assume that I use the orange o-ring but how do you do it?

The haynes book doesn't show it and I haven't been able to find it searching.

I appreciate any help...

Thanks

 

If the pics look funny, stand on your head, I guess I was holding my phone upside down when I took em. You get the point though

Do you just drop the o-ring down on top of the thermostat and tighten it down. This is how I first tried it.....it leaked.

<img src="http://mafia-motorsports.com/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG00039-20090427-2252.jpg" alt="" border="0">



Should the o-ring go on the housing like this? Started to do this but noticed the o-ring would just squish out the top and any tighter would cut it. Do I even have the correct o-ring/gasket...? Sheez, the one thing I didn't pay enough attention to when I pulled it out and it bites me in the ***.

<img src="http://mafia-motorsports.com/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG00040-20090427-2252.jpg" alt="" border="0"></body></html>

 

Well, I guess it sits on top of the thermostat and the housing just bolts on top. So far so good today....no leaks. This is the same way I had it before, maybe the o-ring wasn't sitting in there right the first time.