CHROME THERMO HOUSING WITH EDLEBROCK INTAKE

[quick83]

HEY guys have any of u used a chrome thermo housing on a edelbrock intake(the one with the "O-ring)? when i had my new eng built 5 years ago the guy who did it said he could not get it to go on without leaking. I think the prob was he tried to use a regular gasket instead of the o-ring. that may have been the prob. I need a new therm now cause my car only warms up completely when its 65-70 degrees out. I have a 180 in there now its not a ford thermo its a mr. gasket and does not build very much pressure(the hose collapses easy when u squeeze it) I put a new cap on it and it got some better but hose still feels soft to me. those 180 degree mr gasket thermos are suppose to open all the way when they open(not alittle at a time) i dont know if this is contributing to my cold running prob or not. I notice all this after i put in the new aluminum large rad. so I'm planning a therm swap to a reg ford 190 degree with a chrome 45 degree housing with the o-ring. what does any one have to offer as far as advise on all this? also the other reason I'm lookin hard at temp is cause my car is running rich as poop and has allwayS been that way, even with the oem rad with the 180 thermostat. floats set x2 metering rods step down lower and int timing on 12 with vac adv disb. help if can thanks......roy

[Muscleford]

I have a FMS chrome outlet and I could not get it to stop leaking with the O-ring on even the stock manifold. I use a regular thermo gasket with some silicone gasket maker.

[306gt]

The chrome stuff leaks. I dread when customers bring in that stuff. The chrome is too hard and too smooth for a gasket to bite into it. I plane the chrome off the mating surface with a belt sander then use a regular gasket. I never have any leaks anymore. When I first started using alot of chrome stuff on customers engines I had leaks all the time. It was very costly to fix them and I was constantly doing the jobs over. I don't use chrome timing covers, oil pans, or valvecovers anymore. I'd rather supply Aftermarket aluminum,or steel covers. But if the guy wants chrome I let them buy it and there is no gaurantee against leakage. Chevy smallblocks are the worst leakers when chrome is used for anything on those motors.

[gdniel]

I had a chrome one and it leaked too, went back to the stock aluminum one and no more leaks.

[sectonone85]

I had the same problem with the one i had. Mine when in to the trash and naver had a leak since.

[quick83]

wow u freakin dudes r great....all the crappers that sell these piece of junk say no prob. i will be getting the OEM one, and polish and clearcoat it, thanks much for answering me.

[quick83]

Just found out why the chrome thermo housings leak, the o-ring has to be in JUST a certain way to seal correctly or sand chrome and use gasket and sealer on it.( my bud who has his own shop just told me this) and even then he said SOMETIMES they leak!!!

[Ltngdrvr]

Most people tend to over-tighten the housings which on o-ring versions can cause the o-ring to get out of shape. And on gasket versions they warp sometimes when over-tightened. But like stated above, it is best to scuff off the chrome from the bottom to give the gasket and sealer someplace to bite.

And always use some anti-seize on the bolt threads into the aluminum intake if you ever want to take it apart again.

[quick83]

ought oooooo I used antisieeze on everything else 5 years ago but forgot those. hope the stainless bolts save me. only 1000 miles on eng.....crap