Carmen

[Carmen]

Yeah, I'd cleaned them both pretty well. I must be bad though because both the water pump and tstat leak.

Hadn't realized the housing was so cheap, should have ordered when I ordered everything else just for chits and gaggles!

[marlinh]

If you are getting a new housing then ignore this advice, but you can check if your old one is warped by sanding the sealing surface. Place a sheet of sandpaper on a flat surface and run the housing over it until you see a clean contact surface all around.

Where is it leaking at the water pump? There is an o ring behind the rear housing against the block. They age and crack, and then start to leak once everything gets disturbed.

[Carmen]

Great call, that'll be what I'll do. Beats buying something new!

Thanks for the great tip.

[irowiki]

Where is it leaking at the water pump? There is an o ring behind the rear housing against the block. They age and crack, and then start to leak once everything gets disturbed.

This bears repeating. There's a bypass tube running from the thermostat to the outlet, and there are two orings on it that will leak!

[marlinh]

Right Paul, I forgot to mention those ones too!

[Carmen]

It's right from the gasket actually. Replaced pump and stat, didn't leak before. Now it does. Just have another go @ it is all

[dlb]

agreed on checking the thermostat housing for flatness. also, make sure not to overtighten the nuts when reinstalling it. that can deform the gasket, squeeze the RTV out, and cause the housing to warp.

those look like sr5 corolla wheels. i've always liked the look of them.

[irowiki]

Also, might sound crazy, but are you letting it completely set (up to 24 hours?) before filling with coolant?

[dlb]

Also, might sound crazy, but are you letting it completely set (up to 24 hours?) before filling with coolant?

that's a good point. i also give RTV a full 24 hrs to set before adding fluid. another reason i prefer the thermostats that have rubber gaskets.

[Petros]

..is there a trick to getting the waterpump and thermostat gaskets to not leak? I've tried like 5x w/ the thermostat now, everytime it leaks. Tried 2 gaskets and gasket+RTV. Next time is no gasket and RTV methinks.

I always use a gasket and coat both sides with a very light coat of gasket sealer. One very important detail about the T-stat no one mentioned, it is nearly impossible to keep it in its seat while you tighten down the housing cover, it wants to fall out and misalign as you tighten it down, so I always use some sealant to "glue" it into place. If it falls out of the seat it will still look okay and clamp up normal, but you will not see it and it will leak like "a screen door on a submarine". A thin bead of sealant around the cleaned seat should hold the rim of the tstat long enough to allow you get the gooped up gasket, and than the cover in place, and get the nuts on to the cover tightened down. Also, do not over tighten the nuts, it can warp the housing, they are only 10mm and should not need more than about 6-9 in-lb, which is just past hand tight.

You if you have a third hand available, they can hold the housing/gasket/thermostat up tight against the rear housing while you screw down the two 10mm nuts to hold it all in place. But my wife gets grumpy when I ask her to hold my parts tight while I get the nuts out, so I use the sealant to hold it in place.

[lannvouivre]

You if you have a third hand available, they can hold the housing/gasket/thermostat up tight against the rear housing while you screw down the two 10mm nuts to hold it all in place. But my wife gets grumpy when I ask her to hold my parts tight while I get the nuts out, so I use the sealant to hold it in place.

Hahaha! Ugh, non-car-people are horrible help usually. Especially if they aren't familiar with tools.

[Carmen]

Yeah, definitely saw you mention that tstat trick in the past Petros. Came in huge handy. After only a few times attempting without some "glue" the light bulb kicked on and I did just that

I reckon I didn't wait the 24hrs >< other car (truck) is down and out on acct of poaching it's wheels (got some steelies now finally) So didn't have other transportation. Tuesday that'll all be squared away and I'll give it a go w/ a full set time.

Thanks for all the advices, much appreciated.

[terceldude]

So jealous of yours!!! Where in California are you? Remember the show Knight Rider? Do you ever drive on the roads David Hasselhoff did with K.I.T.T.? I saw at least 1 T4WD in "The Rotten Apples". Your suspension looks rust-free for an '83 and your engine looks super clean for the year. If only mine looked that good! I live in MA where they salt the roads a lot!

[Carmen]

My roomie has a nice specimen from I believe MA, somewhere in that area anyways. Plenty of rust spots that have been rattle-canned over hehehhe. I'm no stranger to rust, MN born and raised where they salt the roads. Nothing is immune there.

Definitely a real treat to wrench when every bolt comes first try hehehehe.

I'm about an hour North of SAN Francisco, so northern CA. Plenty of redwoods around and nice coast

Me and Carmen are moving back to MN tho next month, so she'll finally get to utilize some of that 4wd come winter. Pretty stoked. Such a nice car, Toyota really hit a home run.

As for Knight Rider, sadly I'm too young/not cultured enough.

Thanks alot for the kind words, glad you dig her!

Eventually I'll make with some nice shots of her cleaned up/wheels pressure washed with some coastal or redwood background.

For now just waiting on some new rubber. After that she's pretty much ready for the trip

Cheers!

[Carmen]

Also of note, been @ 31.5-32.5 mpg for the last 4 tanks. Premium.

On the trip I'll switch each tank, Interested to see what straight hwy mileage will be like. These tanks are fairly Highway but a good bit of stoplights here and there.