Thermostat housing leak

R

rgorke

Dedicated LVC Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2017
Messages
632
Reaction score
100
Location
Camarillo, CA
Does it ever end?!?!?

Now I have coolant coming out of the little hole on the drivers side of the thermostat housing. Is this a housing issue or an issue with the cap?

Yes, everything has been replaced in the last 5 years with Motorcraft parts.
 
Pretty sure it’s the cap…

IMG_2076.jpeg
 
04_Sport_LS said:
Might wanna take a look at the thermostat.
Click to expand...
Will do, it is getting more and more difficult to find parts...as you know. My local dealership used to carry many of the parts but over the past year or two everything has dried up.

I also saw this quote of yours...how do you all keep coolant off of the belt? Just shove a towel under the housing/hose?
 
Last edited:
I think that coolant on the belt is more of a long term problem than a short term one. As long as you wash it off shortly after it is exposed, it should be fine. Leaving or getting coolant on it for days is another story.
If you are really worried, remove the belt first.

Through out my LS owerships, I did get coolant on the accessory belt now and then and washed it off as soon as was reasonable. I got over 100K miles on those belts. I replaced them when I felt like it was time to do so, not due to any clear signs of impending failure. I was amazed at the time by how long the belt lasted. I was used to belts being a 30K to 50K mile thing. I see now that technology has improved and 150K+ belts are not uncommon.
 
joegr said:
I think that coolant on the belt is more of a long term problem than a short term one. As long as you wash it off shortly after it is exposed, it should be fine. Leaving or getting coolant on it for days is another story.
If you are really worried, remove the belt first.

Through out my LS owerships, I did get coolant on the accessory belt now and then and washed it off as soon as was reasonable. I got over 100K miles on those belts. I replaced them when I felt like it was time to do so, not due to any clear signs of impending failure. I was amazed at the time by how long the belt lasted. I was used to belts being a 30K to 50K mile thing. I see now that technology has improved and 150K+ belts are not uncommon.
Click to expand...
I removed the belt, washed it with some diluted degreaser and rinsed with distilled water. For whatever reason, it was easier to put on than get off.

Now, maybe I'm overly pedantic on the details in the manual for bleeding the cooling system but this has always puzzled me:

  • Install the engine fill cap until contact is made and then tighten an additional 45 degrees (1/8 turn).
Contact with what? The rim of the cap with the housing? Or when one feels it make contact internally (not sure how that would ever be possible). I am a scaredy cat when it comes to tightening things and worrying about stripping or breaking something.
 
rgorke said:
...Install the engine fill cap until contact is made and then tighten an additional 45 degrees (1/8 turn).
Contact with what? ...
Click to expand...
Yeah, that instruction never really worked for me either. I always just tightened by feel and it worked out for me. I wish I had some objective instructions for you, but I don't.
 
joegr said:
I always just tightened by feel
Click to expand...
I just tightened it as tight as I could by hand and it seems to be ok for now...I was griping to my wife last night that the manual tells you what to do, not how to do it.
 
rgorke said:
I removed the belt, washed it with some diluted degreaser and rinsed with distilled water. For whatever reason, it was easier to put on than get off.
Click to expand...
Degreasers soften the belt. Brake Kleen just flushes off the contaminants. There must be an incompatibility with the coolant, and the rubber compound of the belt.
 
Last edited:
rgorke said:
I just tightened it as tight as I could by hand and it seems to be ok for now...I was griping to my wife last night that the manual tells you what to do, not how to do it.
Click to expand...
I lube the o-rings on the cap with a little coolant. When I feel the cap seat, I just "snug it up" slightly by hand.
 
04_Sport_LS said:
Degreasers soften the belt.
Click to expand...
I only used a tiny bit. There was hardly any left in a squirt bottle and I put some distilled water in the bottle…just enough to spit some foam out. I cleaned it off good with distilled water. The first 3-4 times I started it up it squeaked like crazy.z
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 277 (members: 2, guests: 275)
Back
Top