At 09:20 PM 5/9/2001 EDT, DC Smith (FlynShoot@aol.com) wrote:
>I had a weeping at the thermostat gasket. ....
>
>I removed the old housing, removed the old gasket, cleaned all surfaces
until smooth and clean, put a thin bead of Blue permatex on the housing, I
put a small bead of permatex on the block I lined the housing up inserted
the bolts and snugged the bolts down in a crossing pattern.
>
>The stat was fine for two weeks until .... The leak was from around the
housing. Is there any secret to sealing British metal? ....
It's a trick on the world. For the standard iron head on the MG B-Series
engine, two of the three thermostat studs go into threaded holes that go
through into the water jacket below. You have to put thread sealant on the
bottom threads of these studs. Then if you are using a cork gasket you
should not need any sealant on the gasket.
If you do not do this, when the engine gets warm the coolant under pressure
can leak upwards through the small amount of clearance in the threads.
>From there it continues upwards around the studs through the thermostat
cover and escapes around the fasteners at the top. This doesn't leak a
lot, but just enough to frustrate the owner.
If it is left in that condition the studs will rust, and the space around
the studs in the clearance holes of the cover will eventually get filled
with rust debris, and then one day you will not be able to remove the
thermostat cover.
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg
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