When petros says use rtv...

[ohcanada_00]

Do so..


That is all, more when I don't want to throw my iPad in a lake

[dlb]

omg, i want to know what happened here.

[Petros]

No big deal. He called about his Tercel running a little hot, I had him do some quick tests by runing hte heater fan on high, etc. I thought the thermostat was likely going out, I thought I replaced it but perhaps not (I have replaced 3 t-stats in the last month and could not remember if I did it on his car or not). So I said it is not difficult to replace, drain the fluid, 2 ten mm nuts and the housing come off. It is a bit awkward to install the new one, but if you install gasket sealer on it to hold it in place it will make the installation go a lot easier.

So he found out why I suggest "gluing" the new t-stat in place while you reinstall the housing....

[ohcanada_00]

pretty much.... Drained fluid, use WERA mini ratched to undo the T-stat housing (worked like a charm) spilled a little fluid but no big deal, look in box from Takaza, realize i bought not only a new t-stat gasket, but a new t-stat, laugh about why the EFF didnt i look and spend $18 on another one..oh well I have two cars best to have a spare...get new gasket on (cajole at how easy this is, completely blow off Petros' suggestion to use RTV cause it's going so easy! What could go wrong!?), bolt back up, fire it up, let it get hot, listen as fan kicks in, temp drops, ALL IS WELL! drive around block to celebrate!

Get out of car, look at line of fluid following car from garage, around block the other way all the way to my back bumper. Neighbors watch in delight as I scream obscenities at car and look at t-stat housing which is leaking like a submarine with a screen door. Get angry at what was a simple job (really 20 min top to bottom) and fume that I should have put RTV on in the first place thus sealing everything nice and tight and go inside to wash off, call it a night and drink a very icky beer. (blueberry ale, it was gross) Get more mad at bad beer, play fruit ninja on iPad, lose three straight games, get angrier still. Post on T4WD and then go to bed.

I will be re-tackleing this project tonight.

[dlb]

great story! blueberry ale sounds nightmarish. i'll stick to root beer.

[Petros]

If it makes you feel any better, I have done the same thing. the darn t-stat falls out of position inside the housing while you are tightening the nuts. It will prevent the gasket from sealing because the edge gets caught in between the sealing surfaces of the T-stat housing, and it leaks "like a submarine with a screen door".

A 20 min. job turns into an hour, and you have to replace the expensive coolant you just thought you were so cleaver at catching in a bucket before you installed the t-stat the first time.

[dewloft]

OhCanada I just made this mistake yesterday.

[marlinh]

Another thing to check, which has caught me before is to check that the housing is FLAT before you install it. Check it with sandpaper on a flat surface. Even if it didn't leak when you took it apart these small parts tend to warp and will leak no matter how much rtv you use to seal it up.

[gnarnold]

Well i too just spent the better half of a month dealing with the t stat situation .it will drive a person nuts i say