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I feel dumb posting this but how do you all keep the thermostat from shifting when you reinstall the housing?
This is for my 1993 f150 with a 5.0 engine. The thermostat housing sticks out sideways.
Sprung a leak in a radiator hose and decided I might as well replace the thermostat since i had no idea how old it.
First time i placed the thermostat in the recess around the rim of the housing, and slapped the gasket over it. Because the gasket had a sticky side, I thought it would hold the thermostat in place when I reattached the housing.
but it shifted when i bolted the housing back on and it leaked quite a bit
Took it apart again and tried again using some waterproof gasket sealer on the housing to hold the thermostat in place. But it slipped again and still leaked, but not as bad.
I thought I read somewhere that using superglue to hold the thermostat in place was one trick that worked. before i try that, though, i thought i'd see if i just imagined that.
Took it apart again and tried again using some waterproof gasket sealer on the housing to hold the thermostat in place. But it slipped again and still leaked, but not as bad.
You were almost there! Next time, let the sealant "cure up" a little first.
But then again, this depends on what you were using for sealant....
I've started using grey RTV for these lately. Let 'em sit for 10 minutes or so, then install. Never had an issue.
Third times the charm. Thank you for the suggestions! I used a little permatex water housing sealant on the housing, put the thermostat in place, then put the gasket over it. The gasket had a sticky side and held the thermostat in place. I still let it sit for a few minutes. I put a very light smear of sealant on the manifold and then attached the housing unit.
One other thing i did was remove everything that was in my way - I unplugged a spark wire from the coil, removed the airbox hoses and even unclipped a sensor.
This gave me more room to work so I wouldn't accidentally shift the thermostat again! Took a little longer but no leaks and it looks like I'm good to go!
I use a method I learned. Take A longer piece of twist tie(the material like used on a bread wrapper tie). Put the thermostat in place where it goes against the loose housing. Take the piece of twist tie and wrap it around the bail of the thermostat and run both ends out of the round opening where the hose attaches. Take a pencil or anything suitable and run it across the round opening and wrap the twist tie around it to hold the thermostat in place while you carefully install the bolts. I say carefully because if the thermostat slips out of place you can break the thermostat housing.
I use a method I learned. Take A longer piece of twist tie(the material like used on a bread wrapper tie). Put the thermostat in place where it goes against the loose housing. Take the piece of twist tie and wrap it around the bail of the thermostat and run both ends out of the round opening where the hose attaches. Take a pencil or anything suitable and run it across the round opening and wrap the twist tie around it to hold the thermostat in place while you carefully install the bolts. I say carefully because if the thermostat slips out of place you can break the thermostat housing.
