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  1. #1

    Default 84 302 FI HO thermostat housing

    Whomever designed that housing should be force fed to the person that decided to implement it. Never had such a pain in the rear thermostat replacement. That lower bolt on the driver side, that hose off the front, cleaning the surface with all that crap around it, the fact that the thermostat wants to slide down out of place when putting it back on. Sorry, just had to vent.

  2. #2
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
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    Don't recall exactly how yours is set up, but I know my old 92 f150 was terrible! Only way to get to the one bolt was with a very short open end wrench, and even then, you could just barely get maybe 1/10th of a turn on it each time. I'd spend 45 minutes on that one bolt only to find out later that the thermostat had slid out of place and I'd have to take it all apart again. To make matters worse, I had all kinds of overheating problems with that truck until I finally changed the pump (the pump looked perfect inside and out, so not sure what the deal was.) I changed that ol thermostat I don't know how many times. When I finally got it to run cool, it ran so cool that I barely had heat in the winter, so I had to change it a couple more times lol

  3. #3

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    A couple drops of super glue on the top flange of the thermostat will hold it in place while you're putting
    the housing back in place. And leave the bypass hose off until the housing is bolted down.

    Cleaning the threads and coating them with anti-seize will make the bolts easier to thread in, and much
    easier to remove the next time around.

    One other tip- Get yourself a set of shortie combination wrenches. You'll wonder how you ever got by
    without them.
    Cheers,
    Jeff Cook

    '85 GT Hatch, 5-speed T-Top, Eibachs, Konis, & ARE 5-Spokes ... '85 GT Vert, CFI/AOD, all factory...
    '79 Fairmont StaWag, 5.0, 62K original miles ... '04 Azure Blue 40th Anny Mach 1, 37K original miles...
    2012 F150 S-Crew 4x4 5.0 "Blue Coyote"... 65 coupe, 289 auto, Pony interior ... '67 coupe 6-cyl 4-speed ...
    '68 Vert, Mexican block 307 4-speed... '71 Datsun 510 ...
    And a 1-of-328 Deep Blue Pearl 2003 Marauder 4.6 DOHC, J-Mod, 4.10s and Lidio tune

  4. #4

    Default

    Get a small Dremel and cut a slot in, then you can spin the bolt in with a screwdriver.

    Also, I might get flamed for this, but Harbor freight wobbly extensions. $11.99 when on sale, and you can use an actual 1/2" socket on a 1/4" wrench.
    2 1986 cougars (both 4 eyed and 5.0)
    1 1987 cougar

  5. #5

    Default

    I like that idea of turning it into a screw. I was thinking a permanent and useful fix would be a bolt that had a long extension with a flange where the normal 'head' would be, pushing it out past the water pump housing and allowing easy access.

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