351w thermostat housing woes...

Can't keep thermostat housing on my 351w from dripping...have removed nipple and sanded on piece of glass as recommended. Using Indian head gasket gooo ....any thoughts??


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are you running a stock or an aftermarket housing.

Thanx for replying...I am running a chrome after market housing. I have already eliminated the chrome from the flange side that bolts to the intake manifold and re applied three new gaskets with the same drip !!

i have run into the same problem before.what i did was took out the rubber o ring.if this is the type you have and i sanded it down where it mates to the intake.and then used a regular gasket from a stock thermostat.but if you dont really have to have chrome it is best to find orignal housing it always works for me.i usually wind up with the chrome one on the shelf.by the way your thermostat is it slipping out of pocket causing the leak.hope this helps. cole

triple check that the bolts are not botteming out!!!

after market flange maybe thinner than the original...

use a magic marker to color the seal surfaces and then use a broad flat file to expose a virgin clean surface for the gasket/gasket sealer to grab
(to know there is no silicone)

Stock gasket, rough surface finish on the housing, file manifold side flat, non-hardening sealer on the gasket (I like 3M spray gasket). Let set overnight, do not overtorque.

many of the after market chrome housings are NOT flat on the mating surface.
my experience with these was the same. I removed the chrome,filed,sanded the mating surface & re-installed.
after 3 or 4 heating/cooling cycles it was leaking again. the housing warped.
installed factory unit...problem solved.