Leaking at thermostat housing

[charlescmoss3]

I am doing a coolant flush and had a stuck thermostat housing bolt that had to be drilled out. It is back together now, minus the thermostat. It doesn't appear to be leaking under pressure, at least not as bad, but when the radiator cap comes off, it starts leaking. The leak is coming from between the water pump and thermostat housing. Is this normal?

Happy Memorial Day.

 

[dpantazis]

the sheet metal thermostat housing is tough to get resealed.

a small $3 tube of permatex waterpump sealant seems to fix the problem pretty well.

 

[DaveBen]

Don't run too long without the thermostat. These engines need to be kept at about 200° to operate correctly. They do not run very good at less water temperatures. You will get incomplete combustion.

Dave

 

[charlescmoss3]

I bought the billet aluminum housing to replace stock. I will flush what's In there and add some RTV sealant upon final assembly and see if that fixes it.

 

[JLDickmon]

it should

 

[charlescmoss3]

Well, I applied the sealant and put it back together. I was torquing the bolts down and broke the one in the rear. The leak was minimal so I drove it to the shop to let them deal with it. This coolant flush has been a nightmare from the start.