I hate the water neck (thermostat housing)

[Terrorist 5.0]

I was just thinking a light guide-coat on the spot you were making sure was flat would have been helpful. Of course I only have good ideas when the work is over. Congrats on the fix though the simple little ones like this that just when you think is fixed, you find it leaking again have been enough to make some people sell their car.....

Was enough to make me sell mine lol, throw out bearings have scarred me for life

 

[Terrorist 5.0]

Your name reminds me of that old video game, can't remember the name, where you had teams and everyone ran around shooting each other. You could be the taliban or something, and fight the americans. If they won, it would say something like "TERRORISTS WIN!!" ... LOL

I think you are talking about counterstrike haha, one of the best games of all time

 

[ttocs]

Who has not considered selling their car while trying to disconnect the easy to disconnect fuel line connections? Maybe try the plastic remover again!!!!!! No go back to the metal..... I am sure that the jobs require a certain amount/type of cussing to be done in order to ensure the job is done right.

 

[bennylava]

I was just thinking a light guide-coat on the spot you were making sure was flat would have been helpful. Of course I only have good ideas when the work is over. Congrats on the fix though the simple little ones like this that just when you think is fixed, you find it leaking again have been enough to make some people sell their car.....

Definitely not the hobby for them if they sold a car over a leak LOL!

Thinking about it is one thing, but actually doing it... Time for a new hobby altogether

This is a hobby for patient men, but the patience is rewarded.

 

[bennylava]

Same frustration recently. My last gasp try was to finally take it in the shorts and pay $35 for a Mr Gasket aluminum rubber molded gasket. But I was at my whits end and desperate. Thin coat of their gasket sealer on water neck side; let that set up 24 hrs; thin coat on the remaining (motor) side; install ever so gently using bolts as locator pins; hand-tighten to snug; alternate sides torquing down to the 18-20 ft lbs as recommended. THEN…. Let it set up and seal for 48 hours before dribbling distilled water into the upper radiator hose connection port to check for leaks again. No leaks? Button that bitch up, top off the radiator and call it done! Thank god and I hope I NEVER have to do it again! How can something seems so easy be such a PITA cluster-f*ck?!!

It may be ill designed, and really need 3 or 4 bolts instead of just two. That way you get more evenly distributed clamping.

I started kicking myself over not using the bypass, but then I remembered that somehow my thermostat had stuck open. There was no choice, I had to remove the water neck. But yeah for flushing, that little bypass on the waterneck would be a godsend.

 

[07GtS197]

You guys jinxed me lol. The water neck on my 90 Grand Marquis is leaking pretty good now.

 

[bennylava]

You guys jinxed me lol. The water neck on my 90 Grand Marquis is leaking pretty good now.

Try that same gasket I used, mentioned a few posts up. Only torque 12-18 foot lbs.

 

[95opal]

Best thing i ever did was getting rid of fords stupid neck.

 

[bennylava]

And now the leak is back. Thought I had it all sealed up and repaired. Nope now it's spewing coolant again. Junk

I'm not even going to waste time fixing the old junk, it's got 178k miles on the 302 engine. That leak can stay there until a coyote swap happens.

 

[Terrorist 5.0]

And now the leak is back. Thought I had it all sealed up and repaired. Nope now it's spewing coolant again. Junk

I'm not even going to waste time fixing the old junk, it's got 178k miles on the 302 engine. That leak can stay there until a coyote swap happens.

Such a shame, save the Coyote swaps for the 96 and up cars

 

[CobraRGuy]

I used a large, flat, single cut (as opposed to a bastard) file to make the mating surface of the housing perfectly flat. I used a Fel-Pro gasket and coated it with Permatex Permashield gasket dressing & sealant (#85420). This stuff is great! It is non-adhesive and non- hardening. Also consider using flange bolts to spread the force out. I can remove things like water pumps, re-use the gaskets, and never EVER have leaks. Be sure to coat the inside edge of the gaskets, as fluids can pass through to the outside, creating seepage.
The issue I've been having recently has been finding a right angle molded hose with different sizes on each end (WTF?) that's long enough to reach from the water pump to the tstat housing with the new Trick Flow carb-style EFI intake.
I'm resolving this by using a press-in hose fitting on the tstat housing that reduces the size to be the same as on the water pump. There are lots of 90 degree molded hoses that are plenty long enough to reach now. Voila! Problem solved.
CobraRGuy

 

[ttocs]

are you sure it is not that an fitting that is leaking? I would check to see if that flange is flat.

 

[CobraRGuy]

My buddy Ray suggested using a little weather stripping adhesive to hold the thermostat in the housing until you tighten it down. I told him I was concerned that the thermostat could fall out of the slight recess in the housing before tightening the bolts. He said he has seen that happen several times, and when people try to tighten the bolts further, the housing cracks.
I'm about to reinstall mine, so I'll follow Ray's recommendation.
I took mine off to install a reducer for the bypass hose. The TF intake I'm using locates that housing farther up, making any bypass hoses I've tried too short. The reducer allows me to use a 90 degree hose with the same size at both ends. Those are easy to find with plenty of length.
The billet reducer I bought fit loose in the housing, so I used epoxy to install it. It came out really nice:

This will be installed later today. I doubt I have weather stripping adhesive, so I'll probobly use a couple dabs of silicone. I will file the housing flat, clean, and smooth before installing .
CobraRGuy

 

[96blak54]

I have never had any experience until my son and I rebuilt the 351w in is '88 F250 and what I remember it was a pain to get the T-stat and housing to seal correctly

 

[CobraRGuy]

I have never had any experience until my son and I rebuilt the 351w in is '88 F250 and what I remember it was a pain to get the T-stat and housing to seal correctly

I've done it several times for various reasons, like installing different manifolds, and have never had one leak. I suggest next time you take my suggestions. They're right here in this thread. Of course you're more than welcome to go through the pain of having leaks.
I understand that people don't like being told what to do. I don't either. My suggestions are only that... suggestions.