Thermostat housing leaking coolant

[NickHidro]

Okay so after finally replacing the old gasket with a new one + some rtv the leak id still occurring.

I did however grab a metal ruler and put the edge against both of the mating surfaces between the block and the thermostat housing and found that while the block part was still perfectly flat, the thermostat housing part only actually made contact with the ruler at the very edge and was quite significantly bowed inwards. Does this mean I have a warped thermostat housing?

 

[devilly]

yup sounds warped to me,just grab another one and you'll be right

 

[Brisbarnz]

Just put some 1200 on some flat concrete and rub the housing face over it with some water here n there. Worked good on mrs v6. 5 mins work

 

[F l a k]

Buy a knife sharpening stone/oil stone. Rub that on the housing and it'll eventually give a perfectly flat machine like finish. You'll see the low spots soon as you start. Do that on both surfaces, and use a razor blade to clean the recess that the thermostat sits in. Then clean everything with clean rag and brake cleaner. Use a new gasket and make sure it doesn't get any coolant on it while you're installing it.

 

[Jxfwsf]

Make a gasket out of a weetbix box, nice and thick and will serve the purpose.
Add some red high temp RTV sealant if you like and it'll never be a problem again.

Not sure about using concrete, a sheet of glass is a better flat surface.