Guest ekvh Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Does anyone know if the thermostat on an 88 is supposed to have a rubber gasket(?) around the thermostat? I am not talking about the o-ring around the elbow.I changed mine after seeing my mileage deteriorate and a lack of heat. I know have heat, and after driving it 120 miles , I haven't used 1/4 tank of fuel. When I bought the car I found three old thermostats in it. No red flag there. Anyways when I pulled the old one I examined it a bit before throwing in the new one. I noticed dark green water marks on about 1/3 of the thermostat base. I looked down in the opening and saw with a light and could see that there was an old gasket around the mating surfaces with a gap of about the same amount as the watermarks missing. I cleaned and scraped away the old material and put in the new one. It was around 1/8" thick and allowed the water to run around the closed thermostat. Then I found another thermostat in the trunk when puuting away my tools with a grooved rubber piece around it. I went and asked my parts supplier and he looked it up and it was for the Reatta. He didn't know why the one he sold me didn't have the rubber piece and the other brand did. Does anyone know if it supposed to be there or not? I am now getting good heat and better mileage. I haven't checked it exactly, but I wonder if the thermostat could be floating a little in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike_s Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Yep, the thermostat gets its own rubber gasket, it should have a groove in the inner surface that you fit the thermostat into, once that's done install the thermostat in the engine with the pointy side up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EDBSO Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Mine would "float".I could squeeze and release the top rad hose when cold and hear the thermostat rattling around. I probably went through 8 or 9 thermostats over the years. They are a "fail-safe" designed to fail and stay open. Well the design of the cooling system would allow the temperature of the Reatta coolant in "normal" operation to exceed the fail temperature of the thermostat and they would fail regularly.As for the "floating" try the gasket. I would use 3 dollops of silicone betweeen the top and the outlet housing to keep it in place. I could NEVER get the housing to go completely back in. Thanks to the accountant who realized that they could save $.000124 dollars per car and cause $$$$$ of grief to owners.The Fail Safe® thermostat can only lock open if it has been subjected to extremely high temperatures caused by the failure or loss of efficiency of other related cooling system components in the cooling system <span style="font-style: italic">Unfortunately these temperatures are within the normal Reatta operating temperatures</span> Once the Fail Safe® thermostat has locked open, it must be replaced as the high tempertures required to lock the thermostat open will cause the premature deteriorations of the thermostat internal components. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike_s Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Without the gasket the engine might take longer to come up to temperature which in the summer might not make much of difference, but in very cold temps it may affect engine or heater/defrost performance. Check to see if the gasket is available as a seperate part Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlabree Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Without the gasket the engine might take longer to come up to temperature ????????????????Explain Please...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 The purpose of the thermostat is to stop flow of water through the engine until the temperature of the water reaches a predetermined temperature. If a gasket is not in place to provide a seal between the thermostat and the thermostat housing, water can bypass the thermostat and flow through the engine, somewhat defeating the purpose of the thermostat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlabree Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 excuse me but: There is a rubber o-ring around the thermostat that prevents water from getting past it. The ony thing that the gasket does, is stop water from escaping from the intake and the thermostat housing. It has nothing to do with how fast or slow the temp comes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike_s Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Ok... Here's the start up conditions: it's cold, the engine has not been started and the thermostat is closed as it should be.Sernario #1 - cold engine with stat gasket,Start the engine The stat and stat gasket stop "all" coolant flow to the radiator, so this keeps all of the heat in the engine until the engine thermostat opens up at it's design temperature of 180 deg or so, once the stat opens at apx 180 deg the coolant flows to the radiator where it's cooled and then sent back to the engine. Senario #2 - cold engine without stat gasketStart the engine As in the first senario the stat is closed and tries to keep the heat in the engine until it's design opening temperature is met, but because the stat gasket is missing there's some coolant leakage around the stat. This coolant is sent to the radiator where it is cooled and then sent back to the engine where it's diluting the warming(edit: less than 180 deg) coolant in the engine so it's going to take longer to warm the engine (edit: to 180 deg). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlabree Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Are you talking about the rubber ring or the gasket?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwebb Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 63viking</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Are you talking about the rubber ring or the gasket?? </div></div> There is a large O ring that goes on the fitting that attaches to the engine with one bolt and there is a smaller diameter (heavier weight) O ring that fits-on the thermostat. Am I living in the TwilightZone--where is the gasket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike_s Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 I'm talking about the "rubber gasket(?) around the thermostat" per ekvh's original question.Maybe it's the term "gasket" that's causing some confusion."A gasket is a mechanical seal that fills the space between two objects, generally to prevent leakage between the two objects while under compression." So the rubber ring is a gasket, although most of the time I think of gaskets as being flat. The way I see it , the one rubber ring, aka gasket, on the filler neck (what the rad hose connects to) keeps the coolant from leaking out of the engine and on to the ground. Another rubber ring with the grove cut into it, aka gasket, that fits onto the thermostat has a primary task of not letting coolant around the stat and to the radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 63viking</div><div class="ubbcode-body">excuse me but: There is a rubber o-ring around the thermostat that prevents water from getting past it. The ony thing that the gasket does, is stop water from escaping from the intake and the thermostat housing. It has nothing to do with how fast or slow the temp comes up. </div></div>Maybe I should have used the words "rubber ring around the thermostat" instead of "gasket". On my car it is not an o-ring. It is a rubber ring that goes around the thermostat like in the photo below. I thought we were talking in reference to ekvh's original question. Maybe I stand corrected. The o-ring goes around the manifold coolant outlet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bhjh Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Can someone tell me where the thermostat is located on a 88 ReattaTIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 On an 88 it is at the end of the top radiator hose and sits under a housing ("water neck") on the block. I seem to recall a TSB that came out in mid-89 or 90 about adding a gasket if there was not one.Seems the thermostat is 44 mm in diameter and the opening in the manifold is "more". The 3800 is a cool running engine naturally and if enough water can flow around the thermostat, it will defeat the purpose.ps the O-ring on the water neck is what seals it, the bolt just holds it down. It does not need to be very tight and adding torque to the bolt will not affect any leakage, only replacing the O-ring and really cleaning the surfaces will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 My 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnt Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 Reatta John, a picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks for taking the time to do so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 Just John, thanks.You're welcome.It's what I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ekvh Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Wow! What a discussion! Does anyone KNOW if it has to have the grooved rubber grommet/spacer to be functional as it was intended. Some thermostats include the grooved rubber grommet/spacer while others do not. It appeared to me as though the housing had two prongs on the bottom which would seat the thermostat down where it supposed to be. When I started mine the other day without the grooved rubber grommet/spacer , it several minutes before the water temp was noticeable in the upper rad hose. BTW it was -29c. I got better mileage, but not as good as it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EDBS0 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Dude;Where is your igloo?I trust that you are using synthetic oil at that temperature. My 89 would start at that temperature and colder with synthetic 5W30 oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest F14CRAZY Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 If a thermostat doesn't come with the O ring with the groove on the inside, ask for one. You need that one along with the O ring that fits the elbow. -29C...my that's cold, if it's THAT cold I might use some synthetic 0w30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ekvh Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Okay, here's he scoop. I just popped the new one out and went to put in the one with the gasket/grommet/rubber thing. There is now way I was going to force it into the opening. Maybe someone has switched the intake or something, but I couldn't fit either one in there. I don't think it allowing anything past the thermostat until it warms up. Anyone else feel they had to force it in the opening? I also noticed two tabs on the housing that would squash the gasket/grommet/rubber thing out of place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 ekvhThe rubber ring/gasket should have a grove on the inside to allow it to go around the outside of the thermostat as shown in the photo below. The rubber ring does not go under the thermostat or on top of it. It goes around it. The small photo shows a thermostat with the gasket installed. The large photo shows the gasket installed on the new thermostat on the left and the old thermostat without a gasket installed on the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ekvh Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 I put it around it and it does not fit. Is it possible I have a different intake manifold? I noticed it was tapered slightly to help it fit, but I'm sure I would have torn the gasket if I tried to put it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Could you possibly have the wrong rubber ring that goes around the thermostat? It should look square instead of round and should have a grove inside where the thermostat fits in. I doubt you have the wrong intake manifold. The inside of the manifold where the gasket fits should be clean and free of corrosion. Maybe a little vasoline or other lubrication might help it go in. It should be a snug fit but you should be able to push it in by hand.Same thing for the water neck that has the o-ring around it. It should just be snug when pressed in by hand.Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ekvh Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 The inside was very clean and I greased it before trying to put it in. Mine would have been a lot more than "snug". I will compare it to the size of a new one at the parts store. How come know one mentioned how much fun it is to try and take out the water neck? The only way I could do it was with a wobble joint extension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EDBSO Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 I have put a couple rounds of self fusing silicone tape around the perimeter of mine. I had mine in and out so many times the threads on the bolt striped and I had to epoxy it back in. I will beat the engineer who designed this to a pulp or even better make him spend the rest of his days replacing Reatta thermostats. now that is a thermostat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 It is because the bolt does not need to be very tight - about like an oil pan bolt, the o-ring does the sealing, not the clamping effect.ps F*rd has used them for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ekvh Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 WHat the Heck!!!!! Okay i thought I had my thermostat problems solved, but still had a slight leak at the housing. So I took it off---at least the fifth time ----and fit a socket over the thermostat and proceeded to tap it in WITH A BFH!! Of course, all I did was mangle the rubber piece to shreds and wreck the thermostat in the process. So I resorted to another post here and put some silicon around the other one I had ( One without a rubber piece )and so far so good. I wish I knew why it doesn't fit. I'll find out more this weekend. BTW it was a 44 mm and looks identical to ones in the above photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_blazer1997 Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Same problem here last year. Placed a order for thermostat, and rubber o-ring that fit around the outside of the thermostat from buick dealership.It would not fit. Took a look at the old thermostat, and the rubber gasket was smaller, and placed on top of the thermostat.Used the old rubber gasket, no leaks for past year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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