T-stat housing/water neck...

[myk]

Hey folks,

Years ago, I found that the t-stat/water neck housing on the car was toast, so I went out to buy a new one but I needed it quick because the Charger was my daily.  The only thing I could find on such short notice was the Mopar Performance alluminum/fancy-nancy one at a random parts store.  I don't like dress-up/show & tell pieces but I needed the housing so I bought it.  Well I could never get the thing to seal properly, and ended up trying to reset the seal between the two housings many times over the years.  Fast forward to today, that area is leaking badly again, but I'm ready to do this the right way.

I think a new housing is in order, so do you guys have any recommendations on a solid t-stat/water neck housing?  I don't need anything fancy, like the billet, swiveling types, just something simple that works; something OEM even, but obviously new.  Maybe something like this?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/fss-84830/applications

Or, maybe I'm installing it improperly? 

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance...

[firefighter3931]

Hey Myk,

If the MP t-stat housing you have on the engine is one of those chrome parts....don't feel bad. NoBody can get them to seal for any length of time.....the POS part warps and won't seal properly with a gasket no matter how much RTV you slop on it 

The Summit part will work fine 


Ron

[myk]

Ron,

thanks a bundle.  Yeah I can recall a shop telling me the same thing about those chrome t-stat housings but I thought they were just trying to sell me something else.  I got the car up to 'temp today expecting to see coolant gushing out of somewhere, but the most I got was a lot of moisture at the t-stat/water pump housing joint; certainly nothing that explains the puddle under the car.  I will give that summit piece a try.  Any tips on installation?  Should I rough up both sides of the mating surfaces?  What sort of sealant?  Sealant on both sides?  Gasket type?  Thanks again, folks...

[WHITE AND RED 69]

I know you said you don't want the billet one but its a damn fine product. Mine has not had one drop leak out of it. You could also paint it and no one would ever know. 

[firefighter3931]

I know you said you don't want the billet one but its a damn fine product. Mine has not had one drop leak out of it. You could also paint it and no one would ever know. 

As Clayton correctly states ; the billet piece works great and i use one myself but for a more economical alternative the part from Summit will do the same job but won't look as pretty 

Myk, just make sure both surfaces are clean and use the std gasket with RTV on both sides....just a skim coat and snug the housing down and let the RTV set up overnight. Tighten down in the morning and top off the coolant and you're ready to go. I like the permatex ultra copper high temp RTV...it's allways worked well for me. 


Ron

[myk]

Guys I'm sure the billet piece works well, no offense intended.  You have to understand that living in California, the sticker, wing, fart-can muffler and chrome captial of the world, I've developed a reflexive allergy towards dress-up pieces.  

Thanks for the installation tip on the pieces and the gaskets; I used to slather that stuff on, while others told me just to apply the RTV to one side only...

[Dmichels]

I had the same problems with the stock aluminum and cheep chrome housings. They warp and were difficult to seal.  I scored a cast iron one at a swap meet I think it came off a 413. You can paint it the same colar is your motor. Never leaks and all I use is a lilttle Indian head on the gasket.
Dave

[myk]

I thought about picking up a used OEM piece as well, but...these things do go bad at some point, right?  Or did I throw out a perfectly good part all of those years ago?   

[fy469rtse]

No the best chance of sealing is with billet ones , I machined mine for o ring , rigged up coolant recovery bottle and used later model radiator cap, it moves the pressure build up point and allows overflow bottle to take coolant and pressure, found by doing this I have had less trouble with the neck,

[Canadian1968]

Beside making sure your surfaces are clean. Just as important is not to OVER tighten , it's pretty easy to start bending the "ears" of the housing.

I just had to replace mine. I to had a fancy chrome piece on. I replaced it with a simple aluminum piece from napa. The replacement part actually had a recessed ring for the thermostat to sit in the gasket ontol to give a nice flush surface. The old one I had, used a rubber seal ring , but no recess. I don't know how that was ever supposed to seal properly!!

[myk]

Beside making sure your surfaces are clean. Just as important is not to OVER tighten , it's pretty easy to start bending the "ears" of the housing.

I just had to replace mine. I to had a fancy chrome piece on. I replaced it with a simple aluminum piece from napa. The replacement part actually had a recessed ring for the thermostat to sit in the gasket ontol to give a nice flush surface. The old one I had, used a rubber seal ring , but no recess. I don't know how that was ever supposed to seal properly!!

Wow really?  What's the part number on that housing you used?

[charger Downunder]

Best ones are the cast iron ones.

[Canadian1968]

sorry just looking threw my old threads and saw you asked for a part number.

I chucked the box. You can look it up online Napa.ca (com)hope you have it fixed by now