My 1950 F1 panel truck / 8BA flathead has been running with no thermostats for a while, and runs fine. Some months ago I made the mistake of adding Water Wetter into the cooling system, with the standard green coolant. Some reaction occurred that left a greasy green deposit under the radiator cap, and slimy deposits in the radiator. I have since found on Google that others have had this problem with water wetter and ethylene glycol reacting this way.

So without thermostats in, I completely flushed the system with two bottles of Prestone cooling system flus and distilled water, which has cleaned everything up nicely. I ran the heater so it cleaned out the heater coil also.

It has been a couple of years since I have put the thermostats back in, and I now want to put back the 160 degree thermostats. I have forgotten how the gasket goes into the thermostat housing. Does the gasket go onto the block first, then the thermostat on top of the gasket next, then finally the water outlet housing? I know the thermostat sensor goes into the block with the copper sensor down, not the other way around.

I know this is a really basic question, but I just don't want to get it wrong. Also, If anyone has any tips on how to keep the thermostat in proper position (not sliding down) while assembling everything, that would be helpful.

Thanks for your info...
Joe W

 

There is a recess in the thermostat housing that the thermostat seats into. I use a light coat of RTV to "glue" the thermostat into the housing, then glue the gasket over that. Wait til the RTV is cured, then install with more RTV (light coat) on the block surface.

 

Thanks for that info. I imagine you mean high temp silicone like RTV red.