Oddshot, I can't THANK YOU enough for all the help you've given me. Alot of this stuff would have taken me weeks to understand and figure out on my own. But the way you phrase it REALLY makes it simple enough for a novice like me to understand. And your patients is never ending.
Ok where do I start? So I put on new wires, and plugs adjusted the timing not by following the zero timing mark though, since it isn't in the right place. However, I used my finger over the plug hole to find TDC then stuck a screwdriver in the hole to see when the piston was at it's highest point.
Then I put in the new thermostat. Here's where it gets tricky. For some reason my t.stat housing elbow doesn't have a lock on it to hold the t.stat in place. The manual says it should but it doesn't. So I used some RTV to hold it on the housing while bolting it back on.
Next problem....I started the truck and it fired right up and seemed to be runnign very good. But after about 30 seconds the t.stat housing started leaking like a siv. So I took it off and checked it but everything looked fine. Then I put it back on filled the radiator up again and as I was pouring water in it, it started leaking through the t.stat housing just underneath it. So I took it off again and looked over it again. Still no problems. Gasket was fine and set correctly and t.stat was also set correctly. Then I tried it again and still leaked.
I got some gasket maker tonight. I'm gonna try that first chance I get and see if that works. I just can't figure out what the problem might be.
Boil a pot of hot water on the stove with your thermostat in it. Look to see if it opens. Even if it is new, still test it.
I would put a thin layer of RTV and the gasket on the housing.
And make sure you put the thermostat in the right direction. I always get turned around.
sometimes, it just happens. once, i put a waterpump on...leaked. put in on again....leaked. took it to Ford, they installed it....leaked. i tried one more time, and.....SUCCESS!!
I ran into that problem on my Mustang and my F-250. It always seemed to slip just a little and the housing would nto seal. I ended up taking off the upper radiator hose, taking a wire coat hanger, and bending it into an "L". I then put it down the neck, and use it to hold the thermostat in position. It takes some patience, but worked for me.
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"A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality."
Then I put in the new thermostat. Here's where it gets tricky. For some reason my t.stat housing elbow doesn't have a lock on it to hold the t.stat in place. The manual says it should but it doesn't. So I used some RTV to hold it on the housing while bolting it back on.
But after about 30 seconds the t.stat housing started leaking like a siv. So I took it off and checked it but everything looked fine.
Then I put it back on filled the radiator up again and as I was pouring water in it, it started leaking through the t.stat housing just underneath it.
So I took it off again and looked over it again. Still no problems.
Gasket was fine and set correctly and t.stat was also set correctly. Then I tried it again and still leaked.
I got some gasket maker tonight. I'm gonna try that first chance I get and see if that works. I just can't figure out what the problem might be.
When you get a leak like that its a good idea to start from the beginning ...
Disassemble the leaking joint ... RE CLEAN EVERYTHING ... with scraper and sand paper! Look for cracks in the housing!
Its been a while since I worked on an inline 6 cyl.
Don't I remember that the thermostat fits down into a recess milled into the head? I've seen recesses like that so crudded up ... you wouldn't know they were there. Clean, clean and clean some more. And fit the thermostat ... spring down ... go ahead and put a *little* silicone to hold it in place.
... then comes sealant and a gasket ... then the thermostat housing.
Be careful if the housing is the original pot metal casting. I broke two at the lower ear just bolting them up. I got an aftermarket replacement at Checker for $10-$12, and it is a lot thicker and cast iron.
Looks like I can be in that same club. I took off the housing AGAIN and found a small crack in it. And I mean small. So I cleaned all surfaces AGAIN and this time I'm using a bit of gasket maker as well as a new gasket. If it doesn't work at least I tried. Ill just go order a new housing tomarrow.
And Oddshot, I haven't adjusted the valves yet. I was told by three experienced mechanics. (15 years or more) That the best way to adjust the valves on my truck would be to get it warmed up to running temperature, then loosen the valves just until it starts knocking just a bit, then barely tighten them until it stops knocking, then tighten them 1/2 to 3/4 turn more and that should fix them pretty good.
Is that a good way to do it? Keep in mind one of these mechanics is a friend of mine that used to own 2 of his own shops. I've known him for about 7 years and I don't think he would make anything up. He's a very honest guy. He even told me it was dumb to fix the headgasket on my own with such little experience. Sometimes he is brutally honest. lol
But once I get the t.stat. leak all fixed up I can move on down the list to the valves.
If there is a crack it will snap off there soon, these things don't have much strength to them. Just go pick up a new one, I don't know about your local parts store but mine had them in stock.
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