460 thermostat housing bolts,,

Local bumper to bumper will have a housing for me tomorrow.

j-d wrote:
I went to a 180* on our older Fords also. We had the carbed RV and to V6 EFI TBirds. I wouldn't go all the way to 160* since even that 84 460's system makes a few decisions based on temperature.
Even if I wasn't planning to change the T'stat, I'd want to be able to get those fasteners out. What if it actually DID jam shut on the road? I carried a spare, along with a gasket and a tube of gasket sealant. Tools, of course.
J&J is right. Good chance it still won't center the gauge in its temp range. Ours ran toward the hot side, and I replaced the radiator. New radiator didn't bring it down. The fan clutch usually idled at road speed but would clutch in with a roar on even slight uphills.

Absolutely agree with you about addressing the problem while you can do it on your terms. On the side of the road is no place to do a job of that sort. But, in case of the dreaded " stuck thermostat " on the side of the road, remove the hose from the housing ( after it has cooled down ) and drive the thermostat open with a small screwdriver, leave it in place to hold the thermostat open and replace the hose over it. It will usually allow you to drive until you can get help.

I have a small Craftsman 12V lithium battery(1/4" drive) impact driver. This thing has saved me from more broken fasteners than I care to think about.Just let it vibrate the fastener until it loosens.The nice thing is that it isn't strong enough to snap anything off.

I tossed all the mouse-milk because none of the brands really worked. Including cans with ten thousand words and numbers on them. Reading the labels, a person would think you could spray the frozen part then go have a beer and come back and the part will have fallen off.

There is only one, a single brand that actually works. A vast majority of the Fortune 500 companies use it, and yes including Boeing. Boeshield is for a different purpose.

KR OIL

From KANO LABS

Look it up online.

It makes a joke out of PB this and WDforty million that. I've used them all and KROIL is like comparing a Rolls Royce to a Yugo.

Exhaust system bolts like pipe to manifold bolts that are crusted brown and stuck like they are welded come loose with this stuff. Yes, the bolt heads should be rapped a couple of times with a drift pin and hammer.

A machinist friend did not believe me that KR OIL works. So I bet him a hundred dollars it would work better than his "Miracle ZXB 29 SUPER TURBO" spray or whatever he swore by was the best. 46 1/2" bolts holding a winch cover. I sprayed a random 23 with the KROIL. The ones he circled with a yellow wax crayon.

He waited overnight. Seventeen of his bolts broke. None of the ones with the KROIL did. He pounded, he swore, he lit off a rosebud torch, but it was fruitless. He was not smiling as he handed me the C-cnote.

Then he "borrowed" the can of KROIL. I never got it back. A week later I saw him open a UPS package containing two gallons of KROIL.

Some people learn the hard way, including me...

http://www.kanolabs.com

Another thing I had a heck of a time getting was a upper radiator hose. Everywhere I went it did not match, I finally found the exact replacement hose here.

77Casual wrote:

Grillmeister wrote:

j-d wrote:
Banging on the bolt heads is a very good idea. That was how I got the passenger side exhaust manifold bolts out of our 83 460.
Let me also offer this: Find out if you can easily and reasonably buy a new Water Outlet (generally called Thermostat Housing). If you can, you may be better off cracking the existing one beside the fasteners, removing the pieces, then work the fasteners with better access. Anything to avoid broken fasteners down in the manifold threads.

Just a tip on the thermostat housing, when I had to replace mine on my 1984 all the places I tried for a replacement provided a different part than the one that I had.

I even tried the Ford dealer, I was about to give up when a very young girl behind the counter at Auto Zone suggested we try a different year. She was right, she pulled out one for a 1985 and it was a perfect match :B

Why didn't I think of that :S

Same thing for me, Had to go to a 85 to get a housing that looks like the one it had.

Glad you found one easily, it took me about three days of messing around to accidentally discover that :E

j-d wrote:
I went to a 180* on our older Fords also. We had the carbed RV and to V6 EFI TBirds. I wouldn't go all the way to 160* since even that 84 460's system makes a few decisions based on temperature.
Even if I wasn't planning to change the T'stat, I'd want to be able to get those fasteners out. What if it actually DID jam shut on the road? I carried a spare, along with a gasket and a tube of gasket sealant. Tools, of course.
J&J is right. Good chance it still won't center the gauge in its temp range. Ours ran toward the hot side, and I replaced the radiator. New radiator didn't bring it down. The fan clutch usually idled at road speed but would clutch in with a roar on even slight uphills.

I carry a spare and a gasket also, but I have opted to stick with the 192. My logic is that the water gets to stay in the radiator a little longer to cool off before the thermostat opens. Although in the past many have severely disagreed with me, this is how I have figured it for the last 35 years, so far so good.

Once your system gets beyond the operating temp of the thermostat it is staying open all the time until it cools off. That would be the primary reason for not going down to a 160 IMHO

BTW, I installed a new fan clutch about seven years ago when I did the radiator the first time and neither one ever engages the fan? Maybe it's that 192 thermostat keeping everything cool :B:B:B

Grillmeister wrote:

j-d wrote:
Banging on the bolt heads is a very good idea. That was how I got the passenger side exhaust manifold bolts out of our 83 460.
Let me also offer this: Find out if you can easily and reasonably buy a new Water Outlet (generally called Thermostat Housing). If you can, you may be better off cracking the existing one beside the fasteners, removing the pieces, then work the fasteners with better access. Anything to avoid broken fasteners down in the manifold threads.

Just a tip on the thermostat housing, when I had to replace mine on my 1984 all the places I tried for a replacement provided a different part than the one that I had.

I even tried the Ford dealer, I was about to give up when a very young girl behind the counter at Auto Zone suggested we try a different year. She was right, she pulled out one for a 1985 and it was a perfect match :B

Why didn't I think of that :S

Same thing for me, Had to go to a 85 to get a housing that looks like the one it had.

I went to a 180* on our older Fords also. We had the carbed RV and to V6 EFI TBirds. I wouldn't go all the way to 160* since even that 84 460's system makes a few decisions based on temperature.
Even if I wasn't planning to change the T'stat, I'd want to be able to get those fasteners out. What if it actually DID jam shut on the road? I carried a spare, along with a gasket and a tube of gasket sealant. Tools, of course.
J&J is right. Good chance it still won't center the gauge in its temp range. Ours ran toward the hot side, and I replaced the radiator. New radiator didn't bring it down. The fan clutch usually idled at road speed but would clutch in with a roar on even slight uphills.

I was planning on a flush and new green stuff also. Putting in a 180 thermostat also. It had a 192.