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Something so simple as a thermostat gasket

Fel-Pro is what I use, no sealant.

fel-35063_w (3).jpg
 
Good luck. Very important to get this right. I use a Stant Superstat 180, but do use a Manicini Billet housing. Not cheap, but has never let me down.
 
I have a stock housing, stant 180 and use a stant gasket with sticky tape on one side to hold the t stat in the housing while installing. No rtv or sealant. No issues no leaks. Lol at $10 for a gasket. I buy mine by the handful from Rockauto for 24 cents a piece.
 
I have found the gaskets with the sticky tape side to leak in about a years time. It is the sticky tape side that loses the seal. I try to make sure and get the Felpro gasket if available. I am a mechanic with many customers, whose cars I will see for years, and I learned a lesson using those sticky side gaskets.
 
One other thing... make sure you chase the threads if using stock bolts and stock housing. I chased a leak and it turned out the stock fastners were bottoming out. Basically they were tight but were not clamping. Chased the threads and put it back together and no problem. Only resealed it like 3 or 4 times before that. With factory parts the bolts are just about too long. When I measured everything the first time I thought I had the wrong bolts. After cleaning the threads out I had a couple thousands.
 
Bill the other thing that I ended up doing with the original housing was to put a piece of 180 grit on a piece of glass and sand it down until I removed all the pit marks and it was flat. After that needed to sink the thermostat back into it so I used an old thermostat with the sticky back 80 grit paper stuck to it and spun it in the housing to sand down the recess until the thermostat was fully countersunk again. I went through 3 gaskets leaking until I did this. Also the first one was on a cheap chrome housing, threw that away after it blew the gasket out on the road.
 
Thanks for all of the replies. I've noticed the car presently has a large amount of RTV around the housing and gasket. It's not sloppy, but looks as if they were very generous with the RTV during the install. Seeing this, I will spend the $36 and take Dennis' advice for the billet housing from Mancini. It's a small price to pay for perhaps one less simple headache.
 
I like the “o ring” thermostat housing’s and I got mine on eBay. Never any leakage.
 
I like the “o ring” thermostat housing’s and I got mine on eBay. Never any leakage.
I have an alum. pump housing, and have had trouble w/ it from day one. I have even machined the thermostat housings down to where there is a raised area between the bolt holes and the stat area, on the pretty chromes ones and the stock cast one, still leaked. The stick on store bought gaskets leaked too. I found that the alum flange on the pump housing was bending up when tightening the bolts. I filed it flat , made my own gasket folding the material over to double thickness while making it. Then used a thin layer of black rtv sillicone gasket sealer between the double layer, on the bottom, and the top of said gasket. Set it on the pump w/ the state and housing , started the bolts and left it over night, then torqued the bolts to about 20 pounds the next morning, so as not to bends the alum. housing flange again. Working so far. Also u might need to check the cheaper alum. pump housings inside holes to make sure they are the same as a stock c.iron housing .
 
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