Motorcraft thermostat

90whtbrd

Registered User
After a month of being sick I am ready to install this new thermostat. In my last post on this I was told to orient the steam vent to the top of the thermostat housing but it won't go any further than the 11 or 1 o'clock position and the brass vent is locked and has no movement, this doesn't seem right. Is this the "clicking" in place motorcraft is talking about. Want to get this right, I am so sick of doing every job on this thing 2 or 3 times. Thanks for any and all input.
 
I honestly do no believe it matters. It isn't a steam vent. It's a check valve to relieve pressure and it prevents the upper radiator hose from swelling up. As long as that brass fitting can freely move while installed it will do it's job.
 
Thanks for the reply, I am a little less frustrated with this car today. There have been days when I would like to put the Ford salesman and my wife on a very slow boat to China for getting me to buy this car in the first place. I must have changed out a hundred thermostats for family, friends, myself and never had a leak or problem. I am going to install thermostat today and see what happens. Thanks again for the reply.
 
I honestly do no believe it matters. It isn't a steam vent. It's a check valve to relieve pressure and it prevents the upper radiator hose from swelling up. As long as that brass fitting can freely move while installed it will do it's job.
Same here. You just sort of rotate the thermostat until it feels like its seated. Oh, and dont try to adapt the incorrect gasket or make one from paper material.. the results will be poor and leaky. Try to find a new good correct gasket and go very thin with any sealant.
 
Last edited:
x2 napa is the only joint I can find that has them readily available

the mr.gasket/stewart thermos is what I use

u want the bypass rivot at the highest position u can get it, that will lessen the chance of air trapped in there

DO NOT try to remove the top bleeder bolt on the thermo housing, unless you hold the housing with a wrench else u will destroy the housing, trust playa it aint fun

dont forget to pinch the radiator hoses after u fill it up to get all the air bubbles out

if u do go with a mr gasket or stewart thermo that has the 3 bypass holes be sure to block off the bypass hose that goes to the top of the water pump, a driveshaft bolt fits perfectly
 
x2 napa is the only joint I can find that has them readily available

the mr.gasket/stewart thermos is what I use

u want the bypass rivot at the highest position u can get it, that will lessen the chance of air trapped in there

DO NOT try to remove the top bleeder bolt on the thermo housing, unless you hold the housing with a wrench else u will destroy the housing, trust playa it aint fun

dont forget to pinch the radiator hoses after u fill it up to get all the air bubbles out

if u do go with a mr gasket or stewart thermo that has the 3 bypass holes be sure to block off the bypass hose that goes to the top of the water pump, a driveshaft bolt fits perfectly

Why is it necessary to block off the bypass hose ? I've got that same t-stat in both my cars v6 & v8 and neither one has the bypass hose blocked.

David
 
DO NOT try to remove the top bleeder bolt on the thermo housing, unless you hold the housing with a wrench else u will destroy the housing, trust playa it aint fun

You know, I had never even considered that possibility. I have removed the bleeder bolt without a backup wrench several times with no problem. But you're right; why put all that stress on the housing if you don't have to? Thanks for the tip.

Anyway, the proper gasket looks like this.
http://www.rockauto.com/getimage/ge...w.rockauto.com/info/Fel-Pro/35459_P04_TOP.jpg

If you think about it, it's very obvious that the gasket for the non-supercharged engine won't work. But having said that, I am guilty of installing the wrong one without thinking about it. Boy, that was a cloud of steam.
 
Well got my thermostat installed with no leaks (feel like a first year HS student reporting back on something that should that should be as simple as it gets). I think next time I flush the system I am going to buy studs,lock washers and nuts to push the thermostat housing on, along with some wire or weed wacker line to hold the thermostat in place through the top of the thermostat housing like I read while doing a search on the topic. Short of that I will machine a block to bolt to the manifold and machine it to accept the thermostat horizontally ( real over kill here ) along with another style thermostat housing and flex hose.
 
Last edited:
Well got my thermostat installed with no leaks (feel like a first year HS student reporting back on something that should that should be as simple as it gets). I think next time I flush the system I am going to buy studs,lock washers and nuts to push the thermostat housing on, along with some wire or weed wacker line to hold the thermostat in place through the top of the thermostat housing like I read while doing a search on the topic. Short of that I will machine a block to bolt to the manifold and drop the thermostat in horizontally and search out a suitable flex hose to connect to radiator. All this rigamoro for a thermostat still can't LOL. Thanks for all the input.

Or you could just put a couple dabs of glue on the thermostat to hold it in place.

David
 
I was going to try the glue but I was afraid that if the glue dried enough to hold the thermostat in place in might be uneven and distort and not be flush in the recess. I used black RTV in the recess and both sides of the gasket (Felpo) and went snug on the bolts, waited an hour and torqued to 21# then let it cure 24 hours and it sealed. Running very strong now and never leaves the O R on the gauge. Thanks again for all the replies.
 
So just a question, sorry to thread jack, I looked all over this town I am in and cannot locate a t-stat with that bleed valve in it. all the t-stats I find are just normal t-stats, are they giving me the wrong ones? can I simply drill a very smal hole in the top part to allow coolant to flow a bit when t-stat is closed?

I also purchased a Fel-Pro gasket for mine and it has one adhesive side and seems thicker than the last one. What side do you stick it to, the intake side, or the pipe side?

thanks
 
can I simply drill a very smal hole in the top part to allow coolant to flow a bit when t-stat is closed?
I would advise not doing that. Use it as is unless you like underheating in the wintertime. :rolleyes:

The sticky side of your gasket probably goes on the manifold to simply keep it in place while you're bolting the pipe on. I've never used one like that.
 
So just a question, sorry to thread jack, I looked all over this town I am in and cannot locate a t-stat with that bleed valve in it. all the t-stats I find are just normal t-stats, are they giving me the wrong ones? can I simply drill a very smal hole in the top part to allow coolant to flow a bit when t-stat is closed?

thanks

I've drilled a small hole (aprox 1/8" diameter) in the thermostat before, and it worked fine. Doesn't flow enough coolant to impact normal open and closing temps, just helps with getting air out.

David
 
Agreed. I've drilled a small bleed hole in quite a few thermostats over the years. It won't flow enough to prevent/delay the engine from coming up to temp.
 
Back
Top