Can’t get thermostat back in housing without leaking. Edit: got tstat in, bit running at <180f (1 Viewer)

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Did you clean out the housing and cover? You said no gasket was in the one you pulled out, so I'm assuming they used rtv. If there is still any rtv left behind it might be causing interference.
 
Did you clean out the housing and cover? You said no gasket was in the one you pulled out, so I'm assuming they used rtv. If there is still any rtv left behind it might be causing interference.
Ooh, i did see some kind of material around the opening of the water inlet. I didn’t think much of it at the time but I can see if it’ll scrape off. Thanks for the tip.
 
Ooh, i did see some kind of material around the opening of the water inlet. I didn’t think much of it at the time but I can see if it’ll scrape off. Thanks for the tip.

If you're still not confident you've got it sealed on the next try, fill with water only.
Once you know it's sealed, dump water and add your coolant
 
apply a generous amount of simple high quality red or blue transparent wheel bearing grease to the rubber black o ring

it will aid in the whole seating and clamping of the NEW oem black ring your getting
 
If you're still not confident you've got it sealed on the next try, fill with water only.
Once you know it's sealed, dump water and add your coolant
i did that the second go round but it was stilll mostly antifreeze I ended up dumping out. Then I noticed the slow leak later.
apply a generous amount of simple high quality red or blue transparent wheel bearing grease to the rubber black o ring

it will aid in the whole seating and clamping of the NEW oem black ring your getting
The oring I had might be damaged beyond repair at this point. Maybe I can just reuse the RTV stuff that was in there? The OEM oring seems surprisingly hard to get ahold of for such a simple part.
 
Get right OEM stuff at the dealership. They still sell it. Should eliminate whether you have the right parts or not. Share your vin # with them.
 
Get right OEM stuff at the dealership. They still sell it. Should eliminate whether you have the right parts or not. Share your vin # with them.
I did order a new o-ring from the dealer. I was able to confirm AISIN THT-015 was the right thermostat in the thread above, so I think I'm ok there; it might just need a little more encouragement to get in the housing.
 
i did that the second go round but it was stilll mostly antifreeze I ended up dumping out. Then I noticed the slow leak later.

The oring I had might be damaged beyond repair at this point. Maybe I can just reuse the RTV stuff that was in there? The OEM oring seems surprisingly hard to get ahold of for such a simple part.


NO RTV !

i mentioned the grease topic and referred to using a NEW OEM O-RING also ...fyi see above again

please TRUST my prescribed approach step by steps

if you decide to take the easy path to the DARK SIDE ?


you will fail and have more leaks bottom line

the oem O-ring is less $ then a cup of coffee !


Remember : YOU CAN DO THIS by the FSM correctly , don't ever sell your self short , never , everyone here on MUD knows u can make this repair perfect too ! :)


DSCN9587.JPG


 
NO RTV !

i mentioned the grease topic and referred to using a NEW OEM O-RING also ...fyi see above again

please TRUST my prescribed approach step by steps

if you decide to take the easy path to the DARK SIDE ?


you will fail and have more leaks bottom line

the oem O-ring is less $ then a cup of coffee !


Remember : YOU CAN DO THIS by the FSM correctly , don't ever sell your self short , never , everyone here on MUD knows u can make this repair perfect too ! :)


View attachment 3052523

I don’t have any grease handy, is there anything else you’d recommend as a good lubricant to get it in the housing?
 
I don’t have any grease handy, is there anything else you’d recommend as a good lubricant to get it in the housing?


get your JAR of VASOLINE " BRAND " PETEROLUM JELLY i know u have , and use that generously .......

it works out wonders and will make this solid 100% in like flin correct with a NEW OEM O-RING ONLY too :)


you can do this !




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get your JAR of VASOLINE " BRAND " PETEROLUM JELLY i know u have , and use that generously .......

it works out wonders and will make this solid 100% in like flin correct with a NEW OEM O-RING ONLY too :)


you can do this !




View attachment 3052531
Cool, now I have to drain the radiator again without making a mess, and I guess I’ll have to scrape out the old RTV stuff also.

I was gonna try to drain from the petcock with a 5/8” hose to avoid it dribbling all over the cross member.
 
@Ozark80 you need to get your hands on silicone dielectric grease. It has any uses it can be bought at any parts store, Walmart and even some grocery stores.
 
Cool, now I have to drain the radiator again without making a mess, and I guess I’ll have to scrape out the old RTV stuff also.

I was gonna try to drain from the petcock with a 5/8” hose to avoid it dribbling all over the cross member.
You get a 5 gallon bucket. You place it under the lower radiator hose and pull that sucker off and it will drain in the bucket. Leave the cap on the slow it down if you want. You can further improve your method by placing a trash bag in the bucket and wrapping the mouth of the bag around the hose and radiator outlet when you pull them apart. Very fast drain method!
 
Gasket should not be difficult to place around thermostat. If you are fighting it, not good.
 
You get a 5 gallon bucket. You place it under the lower radiator hose and pull that sucker off and it will drain in the bucket. Leave the cap on the slow it down if you want. You can further improve your method by placing a trash bag in the bucket and wrapping the mouth of the bag around the hose and radiator outlet when you pull them apart. Very fast drain method!
I was just scared of tearing a hose as I’m trying to get it off. I replaced all the heater hoses but the rad hoses Im unsure of how old they are.
 
@Ozark80 you need to get your hands on silicone dielectric grease. It has any uses it can be bought at any parts store, Walmart and even some grocery stores.


whats wrong with PURE Petroleum Jelly ? 🤔
 
I put the or O-ring around the disc part of the tstat but couldn’t fit it snug back in the housing this way. When I started to refill it started leaking out the bottom of the housing, where part of the oring was sticking out.

Is the oring supposed to be installed this way, and/or is it really necessary at all? The old tstat didn’t have one I don’t think.

I’d appreciate any help getting this to seal.

Thanks

View attachment 3050709


i personally would use the BLOCK drain for this particular situation , it lower then the thermostat housing too

attach the 5/16 clear hose to spout on block drain into bucket NO ZERO coolant loss on the ground or on you either





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I did t
i personally would use the BLOCK drain for this particular situation , it lower then the thermostat housing too

attach the 5/16 clear hose to spout on block drain into bucket NO ZERO coolant loss on the ground or on you either





View attachment 3052547







I did drain the block earlier. It seemed hard to get a hose up in there though. I don’t have any 5/16 hose if that’s the right size for the petcoxk and/or block drain though, only 5/8. Might have to add that to the list.
 
whats wrong with PURE Petroleum Jelly ? 🤔
Nothing but he is probably out of it for "personal" reasons ;) as a result of frustration acquired by working on his 80.
I used to keep it in a squeeze tube in my vehicles however it did seem to leak when the vehicle got hot. That is why I switched to the dielectric grease. But you are right it does work.
 

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