mjeff87 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Spent the morning replacing the thermostat housing, after three failed attempts at getting the old one to seal after I replaced the thermostat a few weeks ago. I didn't specifically ask for one, but the parts place gave me a high-flow housing, and it juuuusssstttt barely clears the idler pulley and belt. Doesn't leak either, like the old one (turns out it was a tiny bit warped after all :headpop: ) Image Not Found about 1/8" clearance on the idler pulley: Image Not Found little more clearance underneath for the belt: Image Not Found Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Where did ya get the new housing from? I got the same problem, replaced the thermostat and could get the housing to seal completely to save my life!!! its not a bad leak just trickles when it gets hot. Also, I have a 2.5 and somewhere in my garage I have a housing for an I6, was wondering if they are the same??? if not I won't bother trying to find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 got it from my local parts house that gives me jobber rates. The real problem, however, was the original housing was warped.... Got the new housing with a flat machined surface, used a Victor-Reinz gasket wth a textured surface one one side, and a light smear of RTV black against the block surface. Assembled it loose, let the RTV tack up for about 30 minutes, then snugged it all up. Let it sit for about an hour after that, then refilled it.....and she's good to go. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 seems mine has the same problem. guess I know what ill be doin tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mule13 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 i reb uild hwmmv's at work, we always replace the thermostat. in my opinion the way to replace one is like this.remove the old one and clean it up real good get all the old gasket and rtv off it. clean the block where the housing goes good too. once you get it all cleaned spray both with brake kleen or something like that.then aply a small amount of of rtv to the housing stick the gasket on it then some rtv on the back of the gasket too. stick the thermostat in the block and put the housing on and bolt it down.tighten both bolts down evenly a little at a time until they are tight enough.(I'm not sure what the torque is i just tighten them down)let that sit until the rtv is dry before you put the coolant back in. the key is getting everything cleaned up good so the rtv sticks and let it dry completly. this method works for me on a weekly basis hope it helps someone here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91coMANche Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Thermostats on 4.0's should always go on with some gasket sealer. There are those little ketchup-like packets by the register at parts stores and they sell the perfect stuff for thermostat housing sealer. Its a gasket sealer that seals perfectly but is not difficult to remove if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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