How to stop v8 thermostat housing from leaking?

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I've now got my sand paper, got my glass sheet, and I'll give it a go some time this weekend hopefully.

I'll let you know how it all turns out.


Harvs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by discomuzz

Sounds interesting.

Can you please give me a little more info. on this? I'm a jaded old man when it comes to sealants and stuff. Tried heaps, don't understand why we can't just have one product that does it all (viagara for example).:(

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Aviation Hylomar is a blue non hardening sealant that was designed by Rolls Royce originally for use in their turbines.
The range they have now is quite extensive and is used and specified by Landrover for a variety of sealing jobs.
Take a look at the website.

Hylomar

Where can you buy this hylomar blue?

Is it something you can pick up at the local Sprints/Autobarn. I followed the distributors list on the Hylomar website and there is only one Australian company listed.



Cheers,
Harvs.

Yes, you can get it from a number of auto parts stores. I think I last got it from Auto One

When re-surfacing a casting like the thermostat housing, use the wet & dry paper as described earlier (start with 240 grit or even 180 if it's badly out of true and work your way up to 320 or 400 as it gets flatter) on a nice piece of 6mm glass preferably with the edges bevelled so you can't slice your hand open, and use a circular motion being careful to apply pressure evenly over the casting and not to rock it at all.

The tip is to use kerosene rather than water. It seems to wet the paper better and the aluminium swarf is less likely to clog the paper - you'll get a much better finish.

Thanks to all that helped, I now have a sealing thermostat housing.

It turns out that both the housing and the inlet manifold were out in the same spots creating quite a large gap, so after roughly 6 hours of sanding I now have two nice surfaces that actually hold in coolant.

I ended up using a small amount of Permatex Ultra Blue as I couldn't find the Hylomar Blue. It seems to be doing the job well and hopefully it will continue to do so.

So now I have a nice new:
- Radiator
- Heater (Copper/Brass and Modded to use flexy hose not the factory setup)
- Thermostat
- Thermostat housing
- Valley Gasket
- Hole in wallet.

Hopefully this should keep the disco nice and cool through the coming summer whilst beach driving in 40+ heat on the way to the next fishing spot.

Oh and for anyone attempting to sand the face of the inlet manifold I found that those glass coasters fit perfectly. They are nice and fat so you can hold onto them and the edges won't cut you.


Cheers,
Harvs.