97 v8 thermostat

[CORY30189]

Hey i am working on my friends 97 explorer with a v8 and im replacing the water pump and i have found an awesome write up someone did but im trying to find some info on replacing the thermostat while im doing all this. I dont know much about fords but im trying to figure out where its at and how to get to it to replace it.

 

[my pos mounty]

Follow the top radiator hose to the housing. The thermostat is inside the gooseneck.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Just follow the upper radiator hose to the t-stat housing. You can't miss it.

 

[beach]

I don't know if your's is different being an earlier truck, bu on later ones I think it has 3 bolts.

BECAREFUL, these bolts are known to seize in the head and not even penatrating oil will work most of the time. I had mine soaked for days and didn't matter. I got the bolt to finally budge only to find out it sheared off in the block. I had to have it towed to a friends shop and it took 4 hours of heating and careful extraction to get the sheared bolt out and the other bolt as well, I got the top one off no problem. Have to be extremely careful to not damage the intake manifold or you'll be out even more $$$$.

My friends shop said they have a ton of 5.0 Explorers and F-150's with the mod motors in constantly for seized bolt's in the blocks, either bolts completely stuck or sheared off like mine did. Ford doesn't seem to use anti seize and the steel bolts in aluminum blocks = frozen.

little cheap thermostat cost me 400 bucks of work as he was slow and careful, two other friends ended up having to shell out well over 1K on their trucks after one damaged his intake manifold trying to extract himself and one by a shop, replacing everything including that upper intake man. is a ***** with labor $

 

[Dan Whitaker]

I don't know if your's is different being an earlier truck, bu on later ones I think it has 3 bolts.

BECAREFUL, these bolts are known to seize in the head and not even penatrating oil will work most of the time. I had mine soaked for days and didn't matter. I got the bolt to finally budge only to find out it sheared off in the block. I had to have it towed to a friends shop and it took 4 hours of heating and careful extraction to get the sheared bolt out and the other bolt as well, I got the top one off no problem. Have to be extremely careful to not damage the intake manifold or you'll be out even more $$$$.

My friends shop said they have a ton of 5.0 Explorers and F-150's with the mod motors in constantly for seized bolt's in the blocks, either bolts completely stuck or sheared off like mine did. Ford doesn't seem to use anti seize and the steel bolts in aluminum blocks = frozen.

little cheap thermostat cost me 400 bucks of work as he was slow and careful, two other friends ended up having to shell out well over 1K on their trucks after one damaged his intake manifold trying to extract himself and one by a shop, replacing everything including that upper intake man. is a ***** with labor $

A trick I was taught that has worked for me is actually tighten the bolt slightly then remove it. This helps to unsieze the bolt.

I put a new radiator, water pump & t-stat in my Mounty in Oct '08 with 200k and following the method above I had zero problems.

 

[beach]

A trick I was taught that has worked for me is actually tighten the bolt slightly then remove it. This helps to unsieze the bolt.

I put a new radiator, water pump & t-stat in my Mounty in Oct '08 with 200k and following the method above I had zero problems.

I tried lol, the top one got loose, but the bottom two were completely seized. Even my shop guy couldn't believe how bad the lower two were stuck in. I mean the one completely sheared as if cut straight with a cleaver, no jagged edges or anything. I think my truck only had 95K on it or so, 2000. Said he had a 5.0 Explorer few weeks before that t-stat had to be replaced, only 55K miles on an 01' and all 3 bolts were stuck.