Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Topic: Thermostat and Thermostat housing (Read 3529 times) previous topic - next topic

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #15 – December 30, 2012, 01:27:42 PM

Well taking a quick look at it last night it looked like a bit more than just the water pump had to come off first to actually get to it. So it looked more time consuming than anything I guess.
Should I use an impact wrench or ratchet? Which is less likely to snap off the bolts?
Hopefully I'll get some time to look at the car in a little bit. I'll try getting anymore out of the system and go from there. I'll try to let ya'll know what the problem was in the end.

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #16 – December 30, 2012, 02:02:57 PM

I would never recommend using an impact wrench on any fastener, which if broken or stripped would take the car out of service or would require lots of labor or special tools to remove, replace or repair. That being said, I have used an impact gun tearing DOWN an engine, removing an exhaust and removing lug nuts...

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #17 – December 30, 2012, 02:23:25 PM

Just use a wrench or a ratchet the t stat just sits in place use a little silicone to hold it in

I would pull it out and re test it in a pot of water

How old is the water pump ? ...... Should be fine if its not that old and when they go bad they leek from the weep holes

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #18 – December 30, 2012, 02:25:18 PM

Well just some input on this for what it is worth

First never use silicone on any gaskets . Second i have snapped many a bolt removing ford water pumps. I would never remove one with an impact. Normally the long bolts snap and once that happens the timing cover has to be removed. That is a BITCH to say the least Then the bolt has to be drilled out. As far as the T Stat i use weather strip adhesive to hold it in the manifold to ease instillation. I also drill a small hole in the stat rim to allow self bleeding. As far as i can tell you the 302 does not usually get air pockets that are difficult to remove. All i do is warm it up and top it off. Warning if you remove the water pump go easy on the long bolts that go through the timing cover. They sometimes have a nasty habit of snapping!!

If you want to talk trapped air try bleeding a PANTERA!!

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #19 – December 30, 2012, 05:19:31 PM

Quote from: STANG8U;405789

Just use a wrench or a ratchet the t stat just sits in place use a little silicone to hold it in

I would pull it out and re test it in a pot of water

How old is the water pump ? ...... Should be fine if its not that old and when they go bad they leek from the weep holes

The water pump is the original as far as I know. Car has 7X,XXX miles on it.
I looked over and over and can't find any leaking from the weep holes.

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #20 – December 30, 2012, 05:24:11 PM

I tried bleeding it over and over for most of the day today. No real change in the problem. But now when I press the throttle I can actually see the fluid get sucked down a bit and come back up and before it didn't do that. It doesn't overheat while I drive, which is did a little bit at first. If I'm at a light for a long time it will slowly creep up, but never to the hot mark, just about 3/4's of the way up. Any chance of it being the fan clutch?

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #21 – December 30, 2012, 06:04:37 PM

Well if it sucks down the coolant the core might be clogged up. Sucking down means the core is stopped up. Look down the tank and see if you can see the core flow capillaries. Rev the engine and see if coolant is flowing through the entire core. If the coolant hits the sides of the tank the core is stopped up and a new radiator is in your future. Sounds like the pump is OK. You can check the fan clutch by rotating it with the engine off. See if it has resistance. Then start the car and see if the fan spins at a good speed. If it does not it is shot!!

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #22 – December 30, 2012, 06:05:25 PM

With the car off and cold, try spinning the fan blade with your hand. If it spins freely with very little resistance, clutch is probably shot. If you see alot of grease and grime around the clutch hub it probably has worn bearing seal

When it comes to water pumps and thermostat gaskets I learned from experience that they can leak without a little sealant on the gasket. I had to take a water pump back off of my 302, just after topping it off with antifreeze and getting ready to drive it, noticing it leaking from the plate to pump gasket. This was installed with dry gaskets. so now my own personal preference is those gaskets get a light glaze of rtv or shelac.

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #23 – December 30, 2012, 06:06:46 PM

Good call Tom on the radiator.

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #24 – December 30, 2012, 06:14:40 PM

Quote from: TOM Renzo;405802

Well if it sucks down the coolant the core might be clogged up. Sucking down means the core is stopped up. Look down the tank and see if you can see the core flow capillaries. Rev the engine and see if coolant is flowing through the entire core. If the coolant hits the sides of the tank the core is stopped up and a new radiator is in your future. Sounds like the pump is OK. You can check the fan clutch by rotating it with the engine off. See if it has resistance. Then start the car and see if the fan spins at a good speed. If it does not it is shot!!

Would another sign of a clogged radiator be that when I have my cap open on the radiator trying to bleed out the air the overflow seems to fill up and the level of the radiator itself goes down just a little bit?

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #25 – December 30, 2012, 06:15:41 PM

Fan clutch appears to be good then. With the engine off and could I can only get about a 1/4 to 1/2 turn on the fan when i try to spin it.

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #26 – December 30, 2012, 06:39:25 PM

If you look down in the radiator with the cap off, do the end of the tubes have a bunch of corrosion on them? If these are like this on the ends, they are probably not flowing well throughout the core of the radiator.

What does your oil look like? Have you changed the plugs lately? If so did any of them appear wet/glazed with a green tint? I am not narrowing out a leaking head gasket or cracked head.

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #27 – December 30, 2012, 06:45:59 PM

Quote from: beast50;405807

If you look down in the radiator with the cap off, do the end of the tubes have a bunch of corrosion on them? If these are like this on the ends, they are probably not flowing well throughout the core of the radiator.

What does your oil look like? Have you changed the plugs lately? If so did any of them appear wet/glazed with a green tint? I am not narrowing out a leaking head gasket or cracked head.

The radiator looks new inside. I'm not sure how old it is since I've haven't had the car for a year yet.
I've had the oil changed about 1000 miles ago and it looks good still.
Plugs and wires were changed about 8 Months ago. When I did change them they looked pretty good. Not wet at all, just a bit of carbon build up on them.
Wouldnt a leaking head gasket or cracked head cause it to overheat quickly? and all the way? It takes a long time before it will even get 3/4s of the way up.

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #28 – December 30, 2012, 06:59:19 PM

If there was no pressure in it at operating temperature, I'd say the cap was not holding pressure. Probably venting to the overflow tank.

Thermostat and Thermostat housing

Reply #29 – December 30, 2012, 07:01:28 PM

Quote from: bryan163;405812

If there was no pressure in it at operating pressure, I'd say the cap was not holding pressure. Probably venting to the overflow tank.

I would agree with you normally if I hadn't bought the cap about a month ago. There are chances of the new part being faulty though I guess.