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satcomjimmy
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
10:57:34

Subject: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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I won't go through all the problems I had since I have all them fixed now except this; The thermostat will not seal to the housing. I changed the upper radiator hose and thermostat in the dark and couldn't tell it wasn't sealed but saw for sure yesterday. The bolts are as tight as they will go but there is still an obvious gap that can be seen, the hose can be squeezed to hear air coming out and of course I get misted with coolant when the thermostat opens. Is there anything I am missing? And as a side note what's up with those stupid hose clamps and the placing of the thermostat? What could have been a very quick job took WAY too long.....
OK, rant's over. Thanks for any help, I don't post often but I'm always reading this forum.





Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
12:14:34

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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I feel your pain, I went through this 2 weeks ago with my 95. Those clamps do suck, I prefer the screw down kind myself. Easier to work with.

anyways, turned out I could not get it to seal either. I wound up picking up a new housing from a dealer that was bent so I had to get a 2nd new one.

also make sure you clean off all of the old gasket material and dry the area well before applying RTV and the new gasket. Make sure you seat the termostate properly as well.

- Dan M



Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
12:18:17

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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I forgot to mention, I removed the airbox and alternator to get better access. Someone sent me a link to pdf file for the process. I tried tiling the alternator but could not tilt it enough because of AC lines running across top of it for my fat hands to get good access so i just removed it.

- Dan M



Bob Lincoln
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
12:46:02

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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The housing has a dimple on one side of the bottom to indicate that it must be placed a certain way. You may have rotated it 180 degrees so it doesn't mate properly.



satcomjimmy
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
13:22:12

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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well that rings a bell, I think it did have a dimple, I was just too tired and frustrated to pay enough attention, thanks....I'll look for the dimple and get it oriented properly. BTW without taking off the alternator or going to other extremes, I had a hard time getting any tool down there to get all the old gasket off, ended up leaving just a bit on both ends I couldn't get to, but this was nearly a 1/8th inch opening where it wasn't mating so that can't be it exclusively.



satcomjimmy
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
20:12:31

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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SEEING RED!!!!!!!

Ok, I got the tube housing off, cleaned it good, put on a bit of gasket sealer, new gasket and same thing...

As soon as the thermostat opens up, gushing coolant out the passenger side, running down under the alternator. Mist spraying everywhere. The sun was already down and we could not actually see exactly where it was gushing from. I can still see a 1/8 -1/4 inch gap under the thermostat housing on the left side. My father-in-law helped me put in the pump and he believes it is coming from a hose off the top of the pump going into what looks to be the intake manifold that we had so much trouble getting off and back on. He says we need to take off the AC compressor and get down into it. I am still stuck on the thermostat gasket, I think I'll order one of those housings from the dealer and call it quits for a day or two to simmer.



Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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1/10/2005
23:22:36

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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The new housing I got had the dimple and a lip that indiated that it was the front and should face the radiator. you may be able to remove the bracket holding the the A/C lines and remove the top alternator bolt and losten the bottom alternator bolt. That may get you enough room to fully remove the gasket. I used a screwdriver and a putty knife to remove all of the gasket material.

The housing I got was bent just barely. I had to stare at it a long time and whip out a straight edge to see where it was bent. Argued with dealer to get my money back. It was only $11 part, but it's the principle of the thing.

good luck with it.

- Dan M



daddio
Dodge Dakota
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1/11/2005
10:08:06

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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you changed the waterpump too? check the bypass hose, the hose runs from the waterpump to the intake manifold. you should always change the bypass if you change the waterpump. also are you sure you have the right t/stat? is it sitting flush in the intake when you drop it in there?



satcomjimmy
Dodge Dakota
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1/11/2005
17:06:40

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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Yeah, last night I pivoted the alternator out of the way, I was able to get the rest of the gasket off, I put on the new gasket with some red rtv and same thing as before. My father-in-law says it's the bypass hose, I was just convinced it was the thermostat housing, I did make sure everything was lined up and seated as good as it could be. I was too agitated to look at it seriously last night after thinking I had it fixed and going back to square one. I'll get into the bypass hose in the next few days and let you guys know, you've been a great help.



Bob Lincoln
Dodge Dakota
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1/11/2005
21:50:41

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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I had my timing chain replaced a few months ago, and told them to do the water pump as a precaution at 134K miles, since it had to come off, anyway. I also told them to do the bypass hose, and they said they would check it to see if needed. I said, no, just replace it while you can reach it, and I'm good for 8-10 more years. It's a b**** to replace on the side of the road.



housing
Dodge Dakota
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1/12/2005
15:52:08

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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A quality auto parts store like Carquest should have the thermostat housing. Agree with changing the bypass hose while you're at it.



satcomjimmy
Dodge Dakota
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1/14/2005
20:24:06

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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Need some real help now, my father-in-law tore into the truck while I was at work. He has now replaced the bypass hose and the thermostat housing (which I have now found is called the water outlet) and there is still water gushing from somewhere. Any ideas or hints? If you are going to say head gasket, just keep it to yourself and leave me to my delusions.....j/k Thanks again for all the help.



Marc
Dodge Dakota
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1/14/2005
21:14:59

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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Sorry to inform you, but it sounds like you may have a cracked manifold. Hopefully it's just the housing that's warped (somewhat common.)



satcomjimmy
Dodge Dakota
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1/15/2005
15:36:51

RE: 3.9 Thermostat won't seal
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Ok, it was the water outlet that didn't seal over the thermostat. I couldn't see it until I stripped off the alternator, AC compressor and the frame for both (which was the only way to gain full access to the bypass hose) Once that was all off, we dried off the area, my father-in-law poured water in the radiator and I got a good clear view of coolant pouring out from under the water outlet. It seems since I didn't take off all this to change the thermostat originally, I cross-threaded the back bolt and it wouldn't go all the way down, when it bottomed out, there was still a gap in the back and it wouldn't seal. We added a few washers and put it back on. Worked beautifully.

So for anyone out there that has to change the thermostat on this engine, my suggestion is to go ahead and take it all apart the first time. This is the only way you can get right down on it. Overall it took about the same amount of time to strip everything off and redo it than it took changing the thermostat out by flashlight (about 3 hours).

Thanks again to all for your advice and expertise



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