Welp. Got out with reinstalling my valve cover (finally had time off of work for it) and we were in the process of repairing the thermostat when-- It snapped while being tightened down. Needless to say I'm unhappy with it but is there a replacement I can buy? Preferably something newer that has some sort of decent quality? I want to get my 85' wagon up and going since its my daily driver right now.
That's good to hear. My friend who is helping me is really bummed it snapped on him. I figure a 29 year old part would fail eventually. That's the main reason restoring aka replacing many of the internal parts.
They are easy to break if you are not really careful reinstalling them, no matter how many you have done in the past. I hold my breath whenever I do one.
ohh Good tip! I was unaware of that. Iowa, thank you for that. That certainly deserves a good egg.
*edit* Update--
I have it installed. my friend wanted to install it dry but I really thought it should have a gasket and some RTV-black. I had the silicone sealer but I'm out of time as I need the car for tomorrow for work. It's curing right now and I hope 6hrs will be enough for it to set right up and be workable. We swapped out the thermostat so I hope that solves my heat issue that I'm having.
How much torque should I apply to these bolts?
Also, the new valve cover looks wonderful. That plastic POS is finally gone from that car. Now to figure out those vile vacuum lines.
Uneven torquing is probably the culprit. I like to go back and forth as I snug them down, the TSM says to do it that way too. Also make sure the thermostat is properly seated within the recess if it is a little bit out of the recess it will make for a cracked housing. 13 foot pounds is the recommended torque. I do install mine "dry" with only a little bit of hi-tack to keep the gasket in place.
Just in case it is difficult to find a good t-stat housing, I found a good one at Car Quest today. Paid $14.00 for it and it appears to be made of cast iron.