ok i swapped in a 160 stat in my LO3 becuase i was changing chips and the thermomaster calls for the 160...its now leaking coolant onto the manifold...i used permatex on the gasket and everything and the bolts are torqued down tight...could there be a crack in my stat housing or am i just stupid and doing something wrong?...thanks

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91 Pontiac Firebird...305 TBI
black, t-tops, auto
K&N 14x3 open element air cleaner, 3 inch high flow cat, 3 cat-back into a flowmaster 80 series, IAT Resistor, ultimate TBI mods, Hypertech Thermomaster Chip, TC lock-up switch...SOON TO COME...SLP Torsen Posi unit w/3.42's or 3.73's and Edelbrock TES headers
System..Kenwood 45x4 head unit, Pioneer 5.5 3-ways, Infiniti Kappa 6x9's, Two JBL 10's in a sealed hatchbox, Two Kenwood 350 watt amps

 

My original stat housing was slightly warped when I replaced my stat. I got another one and it still wouldn't seal, so I bought a fancy chromed up housing from Mr. Gasket Co, and it had a rubber O-ring built into it. Uses no sealants, just bolt it on and it seals up just fine. Plus it's made out of some really heavy stuff.

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DR Stevens
1984 Trans Am 305HO L69
sucks gas, hauls ***
1991 Firebird 305 LO3
for days when I need a/c

 

If you can't get it to seal, don't sweat it. Luckily, we all have Chevrolet motors. (I can't believe *I* said THAT!!) Anyway, parts are typically cheap and easy to get. I know I can walk into almost any parts chain (Pep Boys, for one) and walk out with a water neck for my car. Probably chrome, but a water neck none the less.

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R.C. Righter
86 Trans Am

 

The cheap piece of garbage the factory calls a water neck always seems to warp, usually from over-tightening the bolts. What would be a normal torque on them if they were holding down real metal, is the death crush on the pot metal they make those out of.

I would recommend a cast-iron one, such as from Everco. I stay away from the chrome ones; they're made out of some kind of chinesium that experiences elctrolysis over a period of time, probably because it has alot of zinc in the alloy, which eats away at the inside of them, usually at the O-ring. They always start to leak after a few months.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

Chrome does other things, like make it easier for the upper radiator hose to blow off of your race car heading down the back stretch, sending you off the track into the berry bushes for the 4th time of the season...

Looks pretty, quite ineffective.