Thermostat Housing

[John-T-53]

I've done searches for a T-stat housing in the past and have had no luck. Spares seem to be non-existant. The housing on my engine is on its last leg - rusted, warped, and now leaking at the seam between the neck and the base. It's been cleaned, filed, and beat past its servicable limit.

Does anyone have a spare like the one in the pic below? This is for an internal bypass system.

Any help or good leads on where to find one would be most appreciated.

Has anybody ever made one from scratch?

[MBF]

I had one in similar condition to yours-it was leaking up near the neck. I cleaned it up the best I could inside and out, and then put a coating of JB Weld inside and out to add some more "material" to its structure. That did the trick. You couldn't see the repair since it was hidden under the hose. Mike

[HanksB3B]

Was on the phone with Vintagepowerwagons.com and asked in your behalf. I think he said they won't be available till July. Give them a call if you can temporarily fix yours and wait that long for a new one. Think they were $29.

http://www.vintagepowerwagons.com/products/featured-parts-catalog.htm

New in almost every case is a good thing.

Hank:)

[John-T-53]

Thanks for the tip Hank. It would be very cool if I could get my mits on a new one. For now, I reinstalled the old one last night with a s-load of blue RTV. I'm about to refill the coolant shortly before hitting the road for a trip down El Camino Real to Mountain View this afternoon.

I noticed a few of the head studs are weeping coolant now. When installed, I used permatex #2 on the threads and cleaned the hell out of the holes - thought that would hold it. When I removed them, the permatex was gone. I reinstalled the leaking studs with RTV this time.

The thought crossed my mind about using teflon tape and pipe dope like a plumber would, but I'm unsure about how it would hold up with the heat. What's the forum's consensus on a good thread sealer for head bolts/studs?

Edited June 5, 2010 by John-T-53

[Dave72dt]

Loctite makes a purpose built thread sealant. As far as RTV, I stay as far away from that stuff as I can. Properly used it isn't totally bad but

I've seen it end up in holes and orifices it didn't belong in that resulted in hot engines, spun bearings, burned up transmisions, etc. A little goes a very long way with that stuff.

[49powerwagon]

Teflon tape has always worked just fine on headbolts for me, always used it, never had a leak. It`s temperature range should never be exceeded in your cooling system, not much hotter than a boiler system after all.

[Don Coatney]

Have you checked the goosenecks for newer vehicles for a fit? I have not done so but the chance of finding something that works is good.

[John-T-53]

Well after an afternoon out and about in the ol' gal, the T-stat housing has no leaks with the RTV seal. It was applied bare-metal with no gasket, bolts hand tight till cured, then tightened with a socket wrench after curing overnight. I'm still gonna get a new housing when available though, but this one should hold for now.

Another head stud sprouted and I'm going to use teflon tape from now on. According to most manufacturers' web sites, plumber's PTFE tape is rated up to 550 deg. F so should be no problem sealing a block.