Gasket systems are very important in HVAC applications in general. They provide the required amount of sealing between the systems to prevent liquid escape. One of these gaskets is the thermostat gasket application. Here you can find detailed information about thermostat gasket systems. And you can find detailed information about these applications.
What is Thermostat Gasket?
Like the oil filter housing gasket, the thermostat gasket is a rubber or plastic material that provides sealing between the engine block and the thermostat application. You know that the thermostat in a car engine measures the engine coolant temperature to operate the cooling system according to this information. So, this gasket make its duty to prevent the coolant escape to the outside.
Problems with Thermostat Gasket
There can be some kind of basic problems that you can see with the thermostat gasket application. If you have these problems, replacement of this gasket is very important.
- Coolant leaks: The most important problem that you can see with the thermostat gasket applications is the coolant leaks. If the coolant leak is at a very serious level, it is very important to prevent these leaks in general. Because the coolant loss can damage your engine.
- Overheating: Also because of the coolant leaks, the cooling of the engine will not be good enough. And this can cause such problems. If your engine is overheating and if there are leaks, you need to replace the gasket immediately.
- Extensive damages to the engine: Also additional damages would take place to your engine system because of this overheating. So, you need to prevent it immediately.
Possible Causes of Bad Thermostat Gasket
The general causes are very simple to explain. Because it is a gasket application that is affected by different sources.
- Age and wear: This is the most common cause of the thermostat gasket. In general, it is designed to last with the thermostat system. But with ongoing time, it can brittle over time and wear. And it loses its ability to hold the coolant inside.
- Misalignment: The gasket must be aligned with the thermostat housing. Without the proper alignment, it will leak lots of fluid from the inside. You need to take specific actions for it.
- Chemical damages: Different coolants other than water can cause chemical damage to the thermostat gasket applications. So, to prevent it, you need to apply the required amount of application.
- Corrosion: Corrosion is generally related to chemical damages. Corrosion is also a very important factor that leads to the problem of a bad thermostat gasket.
- Engine overheating: Engine overheating can cause different problems with your gaskets. If the engine temperature levels reach very high temperatures, this means you will have the problem of melting gaskets including the thermostat gaskets.
Thermostat Gasket Replacement
It is a simple process that you can make if you have the basic tools with you. You just need to follow these steps if you want to replace the thermostat gasket application that your car has.
- First of all, you need to shut the engine off. And wait to cool for 15 minutes. Do not deal with the coolant fluid when it’s hot. It can cause bad accidents to happen.
- You need to drain the coolant fluid from your engine. There is a drain plug on the radiator. You need to open this drain plug and drain the coolant fluid.
- Find the place of the thermostat housing near the engine block. It is usually placed near the water pump. And remove it by removing the fasteners, bolts, and nuts that hold it in its place. Track the fasteners if you want to attach them again correctly.
- After that, you can remove the old thermostat gasket from the surface. It is very easy to remove from the surface of the engine block correctly without harming the system. You can use additional gasket remover applications to remove it properly.
- After that, you can install the new gasket. You need to be sure that it is installed and aligned with the housing correctly. There are fastener holes and you can easily place them correctly which is aligned with the housing.
- Install the housing back and attach the fasteners correct places. You can refill the coolant from the coolant bottle under the hood of your car.
- Do not forget to test it. You can start your engine and see if there are leaks or not.
Replacement Costs
Maybe you do not trust yourself to deal with this kind of problem, so you need to know the general replacement prices. But we need to state that the prices generally depend on the model and brand of your vehicle. It can change from model to model.
The thermostat gasket itself is not very high price. You will pay around $5-$20 for the gasket. But the labor cost for the replacement can take some amount of money. If we need to give a price range, it is generally between $50-$200.
So, it will be very profitable if you can change it yourself.
Conclusion
These are the general things that we can state about thermostat gasket applications. They are very simple and very important applications in your car engine. And in most cases, you can take care of the problems with this part.
If you have additional comments or questions about the thermostat gasket applications, please leave them below.
Related contents about gaskets;
Oil Cooler Gasket – Common Problems and Symptoms
Drain Plug Gasket – Replacement and Costs
Oil Filter Housing Gasket – What is That?
