I went throught he same think on mine right after i bought it.. I had enough sticking up that i welded a nut to it and came right out . When i was going back together with it i striped the threads in the other hole and ended up having to put a heli coil in it. I had a bad day all the way around just trying to put a freaking thermostat in it

 

What did you do to strip the threads? I would like to avoid that

 

tighten it to much will do it everytime... I have to watch myself on stuff like that

 

I just sent a query to trdparts4u.com for this stuff plus new belts. I really wish I would have taken the belts for my first try of the thermostat. Actually being able to see what I was doing and how everything fits would have saved me this problem.