Hey Guys- Got all my coolant flushed and the system as clean as I think I'm gonna get it. Before putting in new coolant, I decided to replace the thermostat, which was a good idea because it was stuck open when I pulled it out. Anyway- I've watched admiral offroads install video and thought it easy enough. What a nightmare. PO didn't use anything but rtv and when I scraped it off I had a bear of a time installing the new gasket. Either the gasket or the thermostat would pop out when I tried to set the housing. I got it to where I thought it was right, filled up with brand new coolant and bam- Coolant spraying everywhere through the housing. Now, when I get some more daylight tomorrow afternoon to try this again, is there any helpful hints you guys have to make this PITA of a job easier? Do Ineed a new gasket now that the one I bought is saturated with fluid? Thanks Guys, frustrated here.

`Rick

 

use just a bit of rtv to hold the gasket onto the housing. Just take your time, its a pretty easy job. I would get a new gasket just because. They are super cheap anyway.

 

I did- I used the high temp red stuff but it was still pretty slippery. I will grab another one after work tomorrow I suppose. Easy in theory but man both the thermostat and gasket were shimmying every time I torqued down that housing.

 

Gasket is cheap so I would just buy a new one. I placed the thermostat in the engine and them took some of this:

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7651200

Put a couple dabs of it on the gasket just to hold everything up in place to be able to get the thermostat housing on. Be careful when putting on the housing. If the thermostat slips out of place and you don't notice you could crack the housing when you bolt it on. You can pick a new one at Napa but would be nice if that did not happen.

 

Will do Ralph, thanks

 

I'm sure you did but check the gasket is correct. I bought a new housing that came with a gasket and it leaked like crazy. Bought a felpro I think it was and it had adhesive on one side to hold it in while assembling.

 

I have a had a problem with the thermostat wanting to slide down as I was putting the housing on. I put a few tiny dabs of RTV on the thermostat edge to hold it in place while I put the housing on. It does not take much movement for the thermostat to slide down and keep from sealing.

 

If the PO used a ton of RTV, you definitely want to make sure the bolts are clean and the threaded holes in the head are clean.

I used -just- the thermostat "make a gasket" stuff from the parts store. When dealing with Paper type gaskets if you put the bolts through the housing to keep it aligned, then carefully align the housing. Put a little bit of pressure on the housing to hold it in place and hand tighten the bolts as much as possible before using a wrench. If the bolts and threads on the head are clean, you should be able to get it nice and snug by hand so there's not so much play when you torque it. Those bolts don't need a lot, surprisingly, but if it's torqued to spec it should not leak.

 

If your t-stat is not staying in the head, you could always jack the front end up a bit to keep gravity from driving you crazy.

 

Installing the thermostat with the spring towards the block, then the gasket and then the housing?
If you are using a gasket don't bother with the RTV.

 

Great advice guys, thanks! It was a felpro gasket, Ill pick another one up from the auto parts store tomorrow.

So then it is possible to "just" use the RTV sealant and it won't have negative connotations or create a leak?

Thanks!

 

Also make sure you've got the mounting surfaces clean and dry - if you've got a lot of residual coolant it may cause things to slip (and not to mention possibly compromising the seal.)

 

Look in the RTV section, there's specific "make a gasket" stuff specifically for water pumps and thermostats.

You can use other RTV sealants, but I prefer the one specific to the cooling system. It's no more $$ and they sell it in small tubes perfect for T-stat housings.

I've been running great with it. It's less fun when you change it again, but it works perfectly.

 

The last one I did had PSA on one side of the gasket, just remove the liner and stick it to the block.

 

Also make sure there are no nicks or gouges on either of the surfaces.