thermostat housing question

[Kyle J]

Hey guys I'm putting a new 203 degree thermostat and new housing, the housing did not come with a gasket for the bottom can I just use rtv gasket maker alone? Don't wanna wait a week for a gasket to come in the mail lol cause I went to 3 autopart stores and they dident have them what do you guys think?

[smjake2]

i would wait for the gasket. do it right the first time and not have todo it again! 1 more week wont kill ya to wait.

[backwoodsboy]

Do it right the first time. I've made enough RTV/cereal box gaskets to know they never work as well as you'd hope.

[96250crew]

Just tried putting this 203 thermostat and new housing in today and 4 tries later it still leaks. everything is clean, dont understand why it still leaks, thinking of trying rvt sealent. anybody out there have this problem and have any ideas i could use them. Thanks

[Patrick Feeley]

Usually you need to bend up (slightly) the ears on the housing so that it compresses the o-ring. It's always a problem on these housings. There is a guy selling a nice little kit for the housiing that puts more even pressure on the flange (seems kind of pricey, but may be worth it it it keeps it from leaking): "Ford 7.3 Powerstroke Thermostat Housing Leak Fix Kit"

Actually it looks like the price has come down as it was $40 (I think the lower priced one is uncoated mild stainless ... the $40 on another listing is stainless). Cheers!

[jesilvas]

Do the sealant. The time I did the pump and housing, it leaked. Sealed it, it fixed it. Although it must not have been good, I have my pump leaking a tad right now
Clean up both surfaces really good. That was probably my main problem.

[96250crew]

thanks for the advice, I checked out the leak fix kit and noticed it comes with a round o-ring instead of square. I wonder if that would work well enough, just switching to a round o-ring. Hate to spend another 40 bucks but if it eliminates headaches on servicing later on I guess its worth it.

[smjake2]

make sure u use antisize on the bolts. they tend to rust in the housing and snap off if u ever have to take it off again. good luck!

[Kyle J]

96250crew, i just did mine last night Dont bend anything and dont waist your time with that $40 kit, use the gasket it come with and some rtv gasket maker , mine dosent leak at all just make sure you let the RTV dry overnight before starting the truck up and make sure you dont use to much so that it dosent get in the thermostat.