Thermostat Housing- leak that wont stop

jozsefsz said:

Hi @LILCBRA quite an honor to be considered a 2.8 expert. The link you posted is great, I actually wasn't aware Dorman started making the front lower and the upper housing too. Dorman is the only manufacturer still making these parts @JordaninTX , brighter side they're decent quality.

You're probably getting leaks because the bolts are weak, and the threads in the rear housing don't allow you to tighten enough because they're stripped out and corroded.

There are quite a number of parts all sandwiched together by those 3 skinny bolts. The order of parts is front housing, front gasket, thermostat, thermostat seal, water pump housing, water pump gasket, timing cover, rear housing gasket, rear housing. Lots of opportunities for leaks.

In addition to front or rear housing (rear is most important as that has the threads for the bolts in it), you'll want the various paper gaskets (I typically cut my own from material I get at the parts store) as RTV usually won't work too well in place of paper gaskets in the cooling system.

Replace the bolts too, if yours are corroded or weak (they are). They're M6x70 and M6x90 bolts, they won't be at the hardware store.

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jozsefsz said:

You can google the Dorman part numbers and pick your favorite merchant - Summit Racing, eBay, Autozone carry or can order them.

I usually get nuts & bolts from Amazon.com believe it or not, just search M6x70 and M6x90. I don't think anyone makes or markets the originals for this engine, generic bolts will work.

Stainless isn't a bad idea considering the environment, also something with a decent bolt-head (a thin phillips-screwdriver bolt-head won't be able to be tightened enough) something like this: Amazon product ASIN B01N1EN1KHView: https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Thread-Stainless-Socket-DIN912/dp/B01N1EN1KH/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=m6x90&qid=1571392205&s=home-garden&sr=1-7-catcorr

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jozsefsz said:

That's all very non-stock and custom-fabricated I'm afraid. It looks as though they took a 2-bolt manifold-mounted thermostat housing and 'made it work.' There's at least one of the 3 ears cut off, and that button-head through-bolt in the water pump housing definitely doesn't belong. The rear housing is incorrect too, as is that radiator hose. Some extra googling shows me that even through the 80's Taurus's and Bronco's they 2.8L v6 always used a 3-bolt housing.

The 902-1059 is the correct part for the front.
The 902-1064 is the correct part for the rear.

You can verify these parts here: https://www.dormanproducts.com/

Hopefully they haven't hacked up the timing cover - it kind of looks like they might have but I can't see past that heat-shield sleeve. I'm afraid that's not a stock 2.8L v6 configuration from any year, it's someone's hack-job.

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jozsefsz said:

That's all very non-stock and custom-fabricated I'm afraid. It looks as though they took a 2-bolt manifold-mounted thermostat housing and 'made it work.' There's at least one of the 3 ears cut off, and that button-head through-bolt in the water pump housing definitely doesn't belong. The rear housing is incorrect too, as is that radiator hose. Some extra googling shows me that even through the 80's Taurus's and Bronco's they 2.8L v6 always used a 3-bolt housing.

The 902-1059 is the correct part for the front.
The 902-1064 is the correct part for the rear.

You can verify these parts here: https://www.dormanproducts.com/

Hopefully they haven't hacked up the timing cover - it kind of looks like they might have but I can't see past that heat-shield sleeve. I'm afraid that's not a stock 2.8L v6 configuration from any year, it's someone's hack-job.

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jozsefsz said:

No problem, that's what I'd meant yes, it looks like a water inlet you'd find on top of the block, perhaps not even from a 2.8L. Kind of hard to tell from the angle of the photo though, but it's obvious it's not the right part.

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