I have worked on the foxbody for a long time but have never had to replace a thermostat. When I took the old one out the pointy end was facing into the intake (towards the rear of the car) and the larger round end was facing out to the hose side toward the front of the car. is this correct? does anyone have a picture??
replacing thermostat, was it in backwards???
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Stang8URMPRT
Active Member
wyominghotwheel
New Member
yup, it was backwards..........the point goes towards the rad..........as stated earlier.
hotwheels of insanemustangs.com
hotwheels of insanemustangs.com
ok, I put the new one (180 degree) in the correct way but the temp got really hot and the bypass hose that goes from the t-stat housing to the water pump swelled up and looked like it was going to burst. there was also water coming out of it. the temp got up to 240-245 degrees. maybe higher. when the old one was in it never got pass 170. anyone have any ideas???
89roadster
Founding Member
Michael Yount
Mustang Master
Geez, what a thread so far.
The side of the t'stat that has the spring on it goes into the manifold (towards the engine). The side without the spring goes into the t'stat housing (towards the hose). "Pointy" end could be interpreted to mean just about anything.
This has nothing to do with a reverse rotation water pump. No matter what water pumps is used, the t'stat always goes in the same way. It has to sense (the spring end does the temperature sensing) the temperature of the water coming OUT OF the block so that it can control the block coolant temp to the temp rating of the t'stat you choose. "Reverse rotation" has to do with the way you turn the water pump pulley in order to get the pump to move water from the lower radiator hose into the block. An HO motor with a serpentine drive belt needs a 'reverse rotation' pump because the pump is turned in the OPPOSITE direction of the crank pulley. A standard rotation pump is designed for use with a standard Vbelt drive - that is turning the pump the SAME way the crank pulley is turning.
The side of the t'stat that has the spring on it goes into the manifold (towards the engine). The side without the spring goes into the t'stat housing (towards the hose). "Pointy" end could be interpreted to mean just about anything.
This has nothing to do with a reverse rotation water pump. No matter what water pumps is used, the t'stat always goes in the same way. It has to sense (the spring end does the temperature sensing) the temperature of the water coming OUT OF the block so that it can control the block coolant temp to the temp rating of the t'stat you choose. "Reverse rotation" has to do with the way you turn the water pump pulley in order to get the pump to move water from the lower radiator hose into the block. An HO motor with a serpentine drive belt needs a 'reverse rotation' pump because the pump is turned in the OPPOSITE direction of the crank pulley. A standard rotation pump is designed for use with a standard Vbelt drive - that is turning the pump the SAME way the crank pulley is turning.
sunil6784
Member
Did u use some RTV Silicone gasket maker ? or a gasket? I used a little bit of the silicone to adhere the t-stat to the housing and let it sit for like 15-20 minutes. I did that because without it the t-stat slid around a lot, and didnt make a good seal against the housing. The groove that Ford cut into the housing is bigger than the actual thermostat, so it's easy for the t-stat to slide around.
Could it be possible that it slid aorund a little while you were putting it back in ?
Could it be possible that it slid aorund a little while you were putting it back in ?
Michael Yount said:
The pointy end refers to the end with the tip that looks like a pyramid. I have never had the t-stat off on this car. so imagine the look on my face when I pulled the housing off to find that it was in backwards and yet the car never got over 160ish. I have worked on fox bodies before and have owned a few chevy's in my day. So I knew that it wasnt right no matter if it worked or not. The spring end has always gone into the manifold on any car I ave ever worked on. So, like I said, I was shocked that it was actually in backwards. I found the problem though. I simply forgot to tighten a house (bypass hose from the t-stat housing to water pump) which leak out my coolant and caused it to get hot. I didnt see it leaking because the leak was right on top of the engine (which was hot) and instantly burned/dried up when it hit the block. This morning I fired it up and could see the leak pretty good so I tightened the hose clamp and filled up the rad. and took it for spin.. all is well. It didnt overheat. I went and bought new hoses (the two from the water pump) and am going to replace them. Sorry if I confused anyone and thanks for all the help. Turns out it was just a rookie mistake. I felt like an a$$ after I figured out what caused the problem. just goes to show you, no matter how much you know and how much you double check everything, it is always the little 53 cent part that gets you in the end. thanks again
Michael Yount
Mustang Master
A big help is the adhesive peel 'n stick gasket that is designed to hold the t'stat in place while you position the housing. It alleviates the need for messy rtv - and it simply works better. Ask for it at your local parts store. Also, the 'proper' t'stats have 1) an air bleed valve in the body that allows air to pass out of the system (across the closed t'stat) when you're filling it - usually alleviating the pains of 'burping' the system, and 2) are shaped in a way that they fit in the t'stat housing only one way - with the bleed valve at 12 o'clock. If your t'stat doesn't have those features, it's probably a $3 version that is not your best choice.
Good luck with it.
Good luck with it.
it is a duralast. I have never used the peel and stick gaskets. I noticed that the stock one had it so it would only go in one way. (prolly why the moron who had the car before put it in backwards) It works great now and I will be replacing the hoses tonite.
89roadster
Founding Member
Michael Yount said:
My point with the reverse rotation is that the hose was expanding, therefore the pressure was building on the wrong side of the t-stat.
Michael Yount
Mustang Master
A reverse rotation pump pumps water through the block exactly the same way a standard rotation pump does.
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