Originally Posted by
55mike
Since I'm weary of all the political "discussions" I figured I'd share my story about a simple fix I did on my 55 SBC thermostat housing which was leaking.
Background... when I installed the Vintage Air system, I decided I wanted both the compressor and alternator to be inside of the valve covers, putting them fairly close to the thermostat housing. I also needed an extra 3/8" pipe thread fitting tapped to a water source for the electric fans to operate. To make this work I installed a 1" aluminum spacer from Summit Racing that had two tapped 3/8 holes. When I first installed it all there were no leaks. Over time, my "sandwiched" pieces decided to seep coolant all over the intake manifold. I attempted to tighten the two 3/8 bolts as much as I dared to no avail.
When I took it apart I discovered the two bolts I was using were probably bottoming out inside the manifold. So, although they seemed to tighten down.. I wasn't getting the real clamping action I needed.
The fix... The aluminum spacer came with an "O" ring that looked OK to me. So I replaced the gasket between the housing and the top of the spacer.. and I got two grade 5 studs vs the bolts. Found them at NAPA. They came with standard 3/8 thread on the bottom and a fine thread on the top. I reinstalled the spacer ("O" ring towards manifold), new gasket, then thermostat housing. I tightened up the nuts on those studs pretty darn tight... and waaahhhlllaaa. NO leaks!
I realize to most of us this was a stupid little problem.. and well.. it was to me also, but, coming up with studs vs bolts really added to the clamping force needed to make keep it all from leaking.
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