Re: Radiator sylphon gasket material

Posted by 32model901 On 2012/3/11 20:36:04

Tbirdman,

I had a similar problem getting a good seal on the '32 thermostat. The tapped screw holes in the flange that is on the side of the radiator tank are very close to the edge of the hole that goes into the top tank. I found I was getting leakage thru the threads of the screws on the bottom side.

I ended up using a thin paper gasket on both sides of the slyphon unit. One between the slyphon and mounting flange on the radiator tank, and one between the slyphon and the cast housing that has the lever that goes to the linkage operating the radiator shutters.

The paper gasket was .015" thick, standard gasket paper you can get at any NAPA. I used a blue RTV on both sides of the paper gaskets and in the threads of the flange and on the threads of the screws. After I had the cast housing snug against the flange I backed out each screw one at a time, filled the hole with RTV and than put the screw back in, forcing the RTV out the other side of the flange.

Before mounting the slyphon check the flatness of the flange on the radiator and the cast housing. I used a piece of ground stock slightly larger than the flange and a piece of 220 grit paper to take off the high spots on the flange. On the casting I just used a hand file and ran it around the flat mounting surface to do the same.

Regards,

Dave