The housing holds the thermostart, the gasket goes on behind it. The housing is shaped so that the thermostart only seats perfectly in one position. It may take some effort & eyeballing to make it fit correctly.
ok..i read that thouroughly..guess what...i did ALL of that...every single thing was the same..i have the blue gasket sealer..but its the non-hardening kind..does that matter? 2-a i think is the number on it
substitution of the blue sealer/tack you used, vs hylomar is no biggie, IMHO. quite a few folks actually use regular RTV on the housings. no biggie.
are you having leaking issues or anything? if not, nice job.
uhm..i went to thirlby automotive, and showd them the housing and t/stat..and they got what was supposta be the right gasket..but it wasnt it..so they gamme one that fit..and i used some sealant on the paper side of the gasket, sticky side to that block, and tightnd those bolts down like a single mother with 9 kids...now im just waitn for the compound to tacky up b4 i flush my system
yes..i did have leaking problems..it would squirt out the sides
be real careful. IIRC, the torque spec is not much on the housing to lower intake. leaking is a sign of warpage, etc - torquing the bolts down is not a good idea to correct a lack of proper mating.
just for future reference, at this point, i suppose.