The Hour and a half Thermostat Replacement

As of late I wasn't getting any good heat from the car so I checked the usual spots and then I noticed the T-stat I replaced a couple weeks ago was a 160F one, as opposed to the 192F OEM spec. So went to autozone got some RTV, a new gasket and the proper T-stat. Popped the hood, removed one of the bolts, then the one with the grounding wires wouldnt budge, so shot it with some WD, tried again, then the ground wires spun wiht the bolts and broke one of the wires .

Finally get the ground wires off. Then unbolt everything, take out the old T-stat, clean off the manifold and water outlet and apply some RTV and the new gasket. Bolt it all up. I forgot to put the new t-stat in WTF? So unbolt everything AGAIN, ruined the gasket, drive BACK to Autozone, get a new gasket. Put it on, drop in the new t-stat, bolt it all up, fix the ground wire, start the car, leaking like a sieve. Shut the car off, take the airbox off, make a bead of RTV around the water outlet and the intake, let it sit. Hoping that does the trick. This car is lucky I love it as much as I do...

That appears to be about average for the job. You were lucky it was just the thermostat. I messed up the silicone on the manifold, and had to R&R it. It only took about 4 hours over 2 days the second time. With an LO5 I had to R&R the distributor and reset the timing as well.

It diddn't take me that long the first time. I was done in under 30 minutes. And it looks like I'll be doing it a 3rd time as it's still leaking.

Next time keep the RTV away from the gasket and you will have no leaks. You only need one or the other, not both.

I hate RTV and aside from intake manifold ends I keep it away from my cars.

Also, my brother had this problem when he did the Thermostat on his 92. He put the gasket on first and sat the Thermostat on top and it leaked like crazy.

94Woody wrote:

Next time keep the RTV away from the gasket and you will have no leaks. You only need one or the other, not both.

I hate RTV and aside from intake manifold ends I keep it away from my cars.

Also, my brother had this problem when he did the Thermostat on his 92. He put the gasket on first and sat the Thermostat on top and it leaked like crazy.

I did a bead of ultra black on the water outlet, the gasket ontop of that last time and had zero leaks. Same thing this time and leaks up the wazoo...

Next time, tighten the bolts until JUST before they break. If you're tightening a bolt and it feels like a gives real suddenly, back it off about 1/4 turn.

Bewber wrote:

Next time, tighten the bolts until JUST before they break. If you're tightening a bolt and it feels like a gives real suddenly, back it off about 1/4 turn.

Hmm, maybe I'll go crank the bolts down a bit more too. But they were pretty tight to begin with.

Hahahahaha! Sounds like one of my adventures....except I usually wait to start my projects until about 10pm...on a work night. I tell myself it'll take 30-mins, and end up working on it until 2am and am a zombie the next day at work. ; )

I laughed out loud when I read about putting the housing on without the t-stat....I've done that too. You are not alone!

You'll get it!

Just an FYI, on T-stat gaskets, I normally used just a tiny bit of 3M yellow "gorilla snot" on the housing itself, and put the gasket on the housing and then bolt it to the intake with nothing on that side. I hate RTV.

GM got smart on my '93 and '97 S-10's. Those use a rubber o-ring instead of a gasket. Sits in a groove, no glue needed. Progress!

-Mike

Ok that got me thinking...time for a good T-stat long-winded Mike Massey story. So here we go!

Most of you know about the 79 Buick Limited I have here. It technically belongs to my buddy Ben in New Jersey, but it's been in my possession for 6 of the 8 years "we've" had it.

Ben bought the car on Ebay, it was in LA - California. My father and I flew to LA from Austin to drive it back. A good father-son bonding trip. The car had just over 30K miles when we went to get it (has just over 50K now). It had been stored in the California high-desert most of it's life, and the seller had boiled out the gas tank, put new tires on it, and that was pretty much it. It was gorgeous and original down to the plug wires.

The seller was very up front. The car ran and drove great, the only issues were the power antenna was dead, and the thermostat had been removed when he brought the car back to life, since it was in LA and only used in warm weather, he didn't need it. But he had bought a new one and it was in a box of spare parts in the trunk. Ok then.

We flew out to get the car in early March. It was in the 70's in LA. Gorgeous. We got in the car and did some sight-seeing, as we wanted to be sure the car really did run well before heading into the desert with it. Our first stop was going to be Las Vegas. The car ran wonderful all over LA. Cruise worked, lots of power, was just like a brand new 79 Buick.

We left LA that evening, and climbing up from the valley into the high desert, the temp went from the 70's to the 50's....and then the 40's. We slid the heat on, and were rewarded with frigid air blowing from under the dash. Whoops! No heat!

We stopped in Barstow for the night....COLD...and got up the next morning and headed to Vegas. Sun out and warm. Great drive. Got to our hotel in Vegas, and then cruised the Buick up and down the strip, walked Freemont Street, ate at The Harley Davidson Cafe, had a cabbie ask if my father and I were looking for hookers....because he could set us up....HA! Vegas...

Now here comes the T-stat story. The next morning were were supposed to drive into Arizona and go see the Grand Canyon. Knowing we'd be driving through northern Arizona and into New Mexico, and snow was possible, I decided to install the T-stat in the Vegas hotel parking lot.

Other than getting some sideways looks tearing into a car in a Vegas parking garage, the install went fine. I was shocked at how clean the engine was. The blue paint was perfect on the motor. Desert cars are hard to beat.

We went to the Hoover Dam and toured it (great!) and then walked out on it . As I'm taking in the view, my Arkansas redneck father says "Hey Michael, come see this!" and proceeds to spit off the dam down into the water of Lake Mead. Wow lookit how far that went son!!!

Yes Dad....now come get in the car, the other tourists are appalled.... Ha! I love my father.

So we get in the Buick and head across the dam and into the desert.... and there is nothing, I mean NOTHING out there.....for a LOOONG way. The road is straight and smooth though, and I set the cruise control at 80. Dad and I are looking at the wide-opwn desert views and talking and having a good 'ol time for about two hours. He brought a bunch of old cassettes and the original Delco stereo is belting out Meat Loaf, Jerry Jeff Walker, the Eagles, and such.

All the sudden I notice smoke behind the car in the rear view mirror. A LOT of smoke. Amazingly we see a town on the horizon.... and pull into the thriving metropolis if Chloride Arizona, population 15...or close to it....and coast into the only gas station in town.

I pop the hood, and the coolant is blowing out the overflow bottle, and has been hitting the exhaust, which is what all the smoke was. The upper radiator hose is as hard as a rock. The service station wants to charge me....per gallon....for water (ah the desert) so Dad and I open the windows and sit in the car and wait for the engine to cool down.

After about 30-mins I get to work and remove the POS thermostat, and proceed to throw it as far out into the desert as I can. I then bolt the housing back on empty, and pay $25 for a gallon of Anti-Freeze (!), and then we used a plastic cup and the melted ice water from our soda cooler in the trunk to top off the radiator the rest of the way. About this time I notice the vacumn line to the heater valve has come loose. I plug it in and we have furnace heat in the car, no T-stat needed!! AAARRGHH!

We get back on the road and the car runs perfect the rest of the trip back to Texas....but that little T-state adventure caused us to miss the Grand Canyon...it was dark when we got there. Booo!

Oh well. Memories!

-Mike

81X11 wrote:

GM got smart on my '93 and '97 S-10's. Those use a rubber o-ring instead of a gasket. Sits in a groove, no glue needed. Progress!

-Mike

The LT1 uses an O ring as well. Same with my bro in laws 92 1500. I like that design a lot

Hey Mike by now everytime I see 81X11 I know that I am sure to be reading about one of your adventures.I mean just walking out to the garage is an
adventure with you.Sounds like you and your Dad have had some great adventures and frankly I am jealous.
Keep them coming
Jim Gordon

I didn't mean to hijack this thread. Sorry about that.

And yes I do have the car stories. Hope I didn't bore anyone to tears. My Dad is a car nut too so I blame him for the way I am. ; )

-Mike

Good to know my LT1 has a "smarter" T-stat gasket in it....if I ever need to tackle it.

I have video of my wife hopping back and forth across the state line on top of Hoover Dam.
Too bad you can't drive over it anymore....

Oh yeah I spit over the side too

btw, very nice looking Buick

Bumpity.

Started leaking again the other night. Pulled it apart a 4th time. Cleaned everything as best as I could. Used Permatex gasket maker on the water outlet instead of an actual gasket. This seems to have done the trick. I'm going to take my brother to his track meet tonight with it and check for leaks after. I'm hopeful.

Good Lord! Hope it holds this time!

Drove it about 10 miles, had the heat on. Got home, no leaks. I'm hopeful

Oh, man that sucks! Hey, when I changed my OCC's stat, not thinking about how cooling systems work, I put the new t-stat in exactly as the old one came out (done by PO I guess) but then a while later I got to thinking about how coolant flows in my engine and realized the old stat was in UPSIDE DOWN, and I had put the new one in upside down too. FWIW I've never used RTV when replacing a thermostat though, always just use some of that gasket shellac stuff in the brown bottle with the Indian head on it. Oh, and those newer style gasket-less o-ring housings are great until some dumbass company mills the stat pocket in your brand new water pump TOO DEEP.

Cadet57 wrote:

Bumpity.

Started leaking again the other night. Pulled it apart a 4th time. Cleaned everything as best as I could. Used Permatex gasket maker on the water outlet instead of an actual gasket. This seems to have done the trick. I'm going to take my brother to his track meet tonight with it and check for leaks after. I'm hopeful.

If it leaks again, pull the housing off and file it with a file or even fine sandpaper on a flat bench. Do the same to the intake. Sometimes things warp and/or tweak a bit and the mating surfaces aren't flat anymore. Don't go crazy, just enough to true things back up. I used to put a thin bead of RTV on the intake, the gasket, then another thin bead on the housing. Thin as in it normally wasn't even enough to squeeze out. Also, let the RTV dry for a few hours before starting the car. If it doesn't cure it could fail as the pressure builds.