Can't Get The Leak To Stop... Stop Me From Doing This.

militant54 · December 20th, 2007, 09:26 AM

Guys,
I have had a leak from my thermostat gasket for a couple months, and I'd say I lost about 1 oz of fluid every 5,000 miles. I finally decided to fix it, but found the gasket was in great shape. I got some gasket sealant stuff, put a little on there, then it leaked BAD. I tried different amounts of the sealant, got a new gasket, have tried sealing it about 15 different ways and it still leaks worse than before. I've inspected everything and don't see any cracks or pinholes, I'm about 100% sure it's the seal. Is there anything else I can do?

I think I'm going to JB weld it, is there a reason I should not do this? I'm pretty fed up with the whole thing.

Thanks

HMUSN · December 20th, 2007, 12:42 PM

did you try scraping the old gasket off the block before putting a new one on?

B Mad · December 21st, 2007, 09:08 PM

The thermostat housing may be cracked. If its a chrome housing, you might want to scuff up the gasket surface to help the sealer bond with the metal. I would'ent use JB weld, you may have to change the thermostat someday.

SWEET2KSTANG · December 22nd, 2007, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by B Mad

The thermostat housing may be cracked. If its a chrome housing, you might want to scuff up the gasket surface to help the sealer bond with the metal. I would'ent use JB weld, you may have to change the thermostat someday.

+1! dont even use a gasket, just use the silicone. that is how i do it, try that and see.

TurboLX · December 22nd, 2007, 04:49 PM

+2 on silicone

militant54 · January 3rd, 2008, 05:47 PM

Thanks for the replies guys, sorry it took so long to get back....site isn't notifying me of replies.

There isn't even actually a gasket on mine, just an o-ring that sits on the thermostat, but it dang sure looks like there should be a gasket.

I've scraped and rescraped it many times, actually, the old gasket was in excellent shape, I just replaced it cause it was cheap.

Should I put the silicone on the thermostat itself? That's where the gasket sits. Or should I put it around the whole connection ie around the bolts and such? Should I let it dry before bolting down? Sorry for all the basic questions, don't know mechanical stuff very well......

SWEET2KSTANG · January 3rd, 2008, 09:59 PM

do not put any on the stat. that can cause problems that you just dont want to deal with. just put it on the manifold where the housing sits and yes around the holes for the bolts. let it sit for a few miutes letting it get tack a little and then install.

militant54 · January 3rd, 2008, 10:09 PM

Excellent, thanks.

militant54 · January 5th, 2008, 12:50 PM

Shit, just noticed that I do have a cracked housing, don't know how I missed that before......well, I am in the process of letting the silicone settle, is there anything else I can do for the crack?

How long till she blows?

WAR-PARTY · January 5th, 2008, 01:08 PM

Ya buy a new one, they should be cheap, come Trix are for rabbits not stangs

militant54 · January 5th, 2008, 01:39 PM

Sorry, replacing is beyond my scope.....it is one with the intake!

Street Jesus · January 5th, 2008, 08:42 PM

So the manifold is cracked where the thermostat housing bolts to it?

Limp the car to a shop and have them weld the crack with the intake still on the car.

militant54 · January 5th, 2008, 08:52 PM

My thermostat housing is plastic and is built into the manifold. Good news is that the silicone stopped the leaking....for now.

Street Jesus · January 5th, 2008, 11:38 PM

A good plastic Epoxy then.

HMUSN · January 5th, 2008, 11:40 PM

or you could buy a PI intake..

itschristorres8 · January 6th, 2008, 02:30 AM

silcone is the best damm thing ever made
i use it for sooooo much shit.
just not head gaskets and intake manifold gaskets
everything else
SILICONE!

SWEET2KSTANG · January 6th, 2008, 08:10 AM

Originally Posted by itschristorres8

silcone is the best damm thing ever made
i use it for sooooo much shit.
just not head gaskets and intake manifold gaskets
everything else
SILICONE!

even for patiching holes in tires!

militant54 · January 6th, 2008, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by HMUSN

or you could buy a PI intake..

Trust me, I want to......be a good excuse to. Just like my leaky rearend needs a rebuild, might as well throw 4.10's in now.

Ok, I flushed the radiator and now after driving the car several times it still won't take more than about 1.5 gallons of coolant. The hoses feel like they're under very high pressure when hot, too. I can't seem to find a bleeder valve, do I have one on my car? The upper hose doesn't feel or sound like it has any air in it, but the bottom one does when the engine is cold....is that possible?

WAR-PARTY · January 6th, 2008, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by itschristorres8

silcone is the best damm thing ever made
i use it for sooooo much shit.
just not head gaskets and intake manifold gaskets
everything else
SILICONE!

Nah, J.B. Weld I have even seen brake rotors resurfaced with stuff and then cut!

79Capri302 · February 6th, 2008, 08:59 PM

dont use JB weld for anything like that. and i have never seen a plastic housing ever for a thermostat. and it shouldn't be one with the manifold cause you wouldn't be able to change the thermostat if it was! (then again i dont have much experience with the new fangled modular engines that you kids are running these days in your fancy shmancy mustangs

) the silicone for the gasket/o-ring is a good idea, and if the plastic housing is cracked a good epoxy will fix that in a real hurry. dont use and old type of silicone, you want to use the high temp RTV stuff (its red). i use that all the time at work for the diesels and it doesn't fail on me at all

December 20th, 2007, 09:26 AM	#1
militant54 Regular Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 177 iTrader: 1 reviews	Can't Get The Leak To Stop... Stop Me From Doing This. Guys, I have had a leak from my thermostat gasket for a couple months, and I'd say I lost about 1 oz of fluid every 5,000 miles. I finally decided to fix it, but found the gasket was in great shape. I got some gasket sealant stuff, put a little on there, then it leaked BAD. I tried different amounts of the sealant, got a new gasket, have tried sealing it about 15 different ways and it still leaks worse than before. I've inspected everything and don't see any cracks or pinholes, I'm about 100% sure it's the seal. Is there anything else I can do? I think I'm going to JB weld it, is there a reason I should not do this? I'm pretty fed up with the whole thing. Thanks __________________ 1998 Mustang GT Convertible, black on black on black with MAC prochamber H, Flowmasters, PI intake, SCT tune, K&N.

December 20th, 2007, 12:42 PM	#2
HMUSN Doc 1986 SVO Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 36,836 iTrader: 9 reviews	did you try scraping the old gasket off the block before putting a new one on? __________________

December 21st, 2007, 09:08 PM	#3
B Mad Regular 1967 Coupe 12.3 @ 115 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Western New York Posts: 101 iTrader: 0 reviews	The thermostat housing may be cracked. If its a chrome housing, you might want to scuff up the gasket surface to help the sealer bond with the metal. I would'ent use JB weld, you may have to change the thermostat someday. __________________

December 22nd, 2007, 04:49 PM	#5
TurboLX I Post Entirely Way Too Much 1988 Mustang LX Turbo Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NY Posts: 8,792 Blog Entries: 1 iTrader: 0 reviews	+2 on silicone __________________ 1988 LX Coupe 2.5L, GT35R, 44mm WG, 32psi, C16.

January 3rd, 2008, 05:47 PM	#6
militant54 Regular Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 177 iTrader: 1 reviews	Thanks for the replies guys, sorry it took so long to get back....site isn't notifying me of replies. There isn't even actually a gasket on mine, just an o-ring that sits on the thermostat, but it dang sure looks like there should be a gasket. I've scraped and rescraped it many times, actually, the old gasket was in excellent shape, I just replaced it cause it was cheap. Should I put the silicone on the thermostat itself? That's where the gasket sits. Or should I put it around the whole connection ie around the bolts and such? Should I let it dry before bolting down? Sorry for all the basic questions, don't know mechanical stuff very well...... __________________ 1998 Mustang GT Convertible, black on black on black with MAC prochamber H, Flowmasters, PI intake, SCT tune, K&N.

January 3rd, 2008, 09:59 PM	#7
SWEET2KSTANG mm's nitrous mod 2000 mustang gt 11.79@115.83 (old set up) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: N.W. AR Posts: 12,430 iTrader: 8 reviews	do not put any on the stat. that can cause problems that you just dont want to deal with. just put it on the manifold where the housing sits and yes around the holes for the bolts. let it sit for a few miutes letting it get tack a little and then install. __________________ project warhorse under construction being built by MP2 Performance

January 3rd, 2008, 10:09 PM	#8
militant54 Regular Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 177 iTrader: 1 reviews	Excellent, thanks. __________________ 1998 Mustang GT Convertible, black on black on black with MAC prochamber H, Flowmasters, PI intake, SCT tune, K&N.

January 5th, 2008, 12:50 PM	#9
militant54 Regular Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 177 iTrader: 1 reviews	Shit, just noticed that I do have a cracked housing, don't know how I missed that before......well, I am in the process of letting the silicone settle, is there anything else I can do for the crack? How long till she blows? __________________ 1998 Mustang GT Convertible, black on black on black with MAC prochamber H, Flowmasters, PI intake, SCT tune, K&N.

January 5th, 2008, 01:08 PM	#10
WAR-PARTY Hardcore Enthusiast 2001 YUGO GT Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: GOAT LOCKER PENSACOLA FL Posts: 1,701 Blog Entries: 1 iTrader: 0 reviews	Ya buy a new one, they should be cheap, come Trix are for rabbits not stangs __________________ How I met my wife! Our first date...

January 5th, 2008, 01:39 PM	#11
militant54 Regular Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 177 iTrader: 1 reviews	Sorry, replacing is beyond my scope.....it is one with the intake! __________________ 1998 Mustang GT Convertible, black on black on black with MAC prochamber H, Flowmasters, PI intake, SCT tune, K&N.

January 5th, 2008, 08:42 PM	#12
Street Jesus Newbie 80 Mustang Cobra Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 39 iTrader: 0 reviews	So the manifold is cracked where the thermostat housing bolts to it? Limp the car to a shop and have them weld the crack with the intake still on the car.

January 5th, 2008, 08:52 PM	#13
militant54 Regular Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 177 iTrader: 1 reviews	My thermostat housing is plastic and is built into the manifold. Good news is that the silicone stopped the leaking....for now. __________________ 1998 Mustang GT Convertible, black on black on black with MAC prochamber H, Flowmasters, PI intake, SCT tune, K&N.

January 5th, 2008, 11:38 PM	#14
Street Jesus Newbie 80 Mustang Cobra Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 39 iTrader: 0 reviews	A good plastic Epoxy then.

January 5th, 2008, 11:40 PM	#15
HMUSN Doc 1986 SVO Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 36,836 iTrader: 9 reviews	or you could buy a PI intake.. __________________

January 6th, 2008, 02:30 AM	#16
itschristorres8 Banned 00 V6 & 09 GT 13.37@104.4mph--BONE stock GT Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: south florida Posts: 15,859 iTrader: 2 reviews	silcone is the best damm thing ever made i use it for sooooo much shit. just not head gaskets and intake manifold gaskets everything else SILICONE! __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] Acmillr loves me

February 6th, 2008, 08:59 PM	#20
79Capri302 Newbie 1979 Capri GHIA Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Van Isle, BC Posts: 48 iTrader: 0 reviews	dont use JB weld for anything like that. and i have never seen a plastic housing ever for a thermostat. and it shouldn't be one with the manifold cause you wouldn't be able to change the thermostat if it was! (then again i dont have much experience with the new fangled modular engines that you kids are running these days in your fancy shmancy mustangs ) the silicone for the gasket/o-ring is a good idea, and if the plastic housing is cracked a good epoxy will fix that in a real hurry. dont use and old type of silicone, you want to use the high temp RTV stuff (its red). i use that all the time at work for the diesels and it doesn't fail on me at all

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