Broken Thermostat housing :(

[Viscount02]

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.

[Viscount02]

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.

[IowaEagle]

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.

[Viscount02]

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.

[IowaEagle]

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.

[Taylor]

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.