[Hertz]

I'm pretty sure I have a leak here. Going to be taking the timing cover off this weekend so I want to reseal this.

Is there a gasket? If so which one? I'm finding gaskets described as thermostat housing to manifold with two bolt holes and square hole in the center as the coolant passage. Is this correct? Also, rtv or no rtv? Is the red high temp stuff good enough?

 

[smj999smj]

The thermostat housing has two ends. The "square-hole" is the end of the thermostat that bolts to the engine. The other end is round with three bolt holes and is where the thermostat and thermostat cover sit. You can get gaskets for either end, but they are RTV grey sealant from the factory. I use Permatex Ultra Grey Rigid High Torque sealant on thermostats, water pumps and front timing covers (on other Nissan engines, like the VQ's and KA's). If you'd rather use a paper gasket, Fel-pro 35312 is the "square hole" gasket and 35369 is for the thermostat cover. If you are using a gasket, don't use RTV; rather, go with Permatex Copper Spray gasket or a liquid gasket adhesive or "aviation sealer." A lot of these VG engines have a lot of miles on them and the outlet of the thermostat housings tend to build up a lot of corrosion which can lead to leaks. It's not a bad idea to get a new housing, especially if you are installing a new radiator hose. Rockauto sells them for $10 (Dorman 9025009). If you are going to replace the thermostat, I recommend sticking with genuine Nissan.

 

[Hertz]

I already replaced the thermostat, gasket(3 bolts), and cover/housing. Since I'm going to be in there anyway checking the timing belt tension I figured I'd reseal the other end where it bolts to the engine.

I used paper gaskets for the water pump and thermostat. You prefer RTV?

 

[smj999smj]

Given the choice, I prefer RTV (especially on parts that came from the factory with RTV), but if you already installed gaskets, I wouldn't go tearing them off to replace it with RTV. They'll be fine!

 

[Cusser]

As to a thermostat housing (too late for you), I'd make sure that the surface is absolutely flat. If not, make flat using a sheet of wet/dry and a sheet of glass.

As to gaskets for this or water pump, I use the gasket AND a THIN film of RTV which states resistance to coolant, which is most RTVs. There is even specialty RTV designated for these surfaces, bet it's mostly a marketing gimmick.

 

[Hertz]

Well I ended up taking the thermostat back out to give me more room to get to the two bolts on the gooseneck. So I resealed that with rtv since I didn't have another paper gasket.

I didn't realize there was a coolant pipe that also bolts to the back of that aluminum goose neck. Not sure how you would ever unbolt that without taking the intake manifolds off. I was able to get the neck up high enough to put a bead of rtv around the square hole. It wasn't easy but I had no choice since I had already broken the seal.

Am I missing something here?

 

[smj999smj]

No. There's a long, L-shaped coolant pipe that runs from the housing to the back of the engine and then turns toward the right side. You need to remove the lower intake to remove the pipe as it's bolted to the block.

 

[kevinjohnson3216]

Well I ended up taking the thermostat back out to give me more room to get to the two bolts on the gooseneck. So I resealed that with rtv since I didn't have another paper gasket.

I didn't realize there was a coolant pipe that also bolts to the back of that aluminum goose neck. Not sure how you would ever unbolt that without taking the intake manifolds off. I was able to get the neck up high enough to put a bead of rtv around the square hole. It wasn't easy but I had no choice since I had already broken the seal.

Am I missing something here?

Yeah that's how all the v6 engines I've worked on are, I only reseal them when I have the heads off, but I've never seen one leak even at high mileage

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk