replacing thermostat on my 97 4 runner 3.4 auto 4 wd, when i removed the housing it looked like there was some permatex on the housing, am i supposed to use permatex on the housing or will the thermostat gasket be adequate to keep it from leaking??or is there a gasket for the housing ?

 

There is only the rubber oring type gasket that fits around the thermostat.
No other sealant required.

 

Thanks for the quick reply Marc, thats what I thought

 

Well things were going pretty smoothly while i was replacing the radiator, hoses OEM, & had to replace the transmission fittings because the new (not a Toyota radiator) an after market had female fittings, & the original Toyota radiator had male fittings, replaced both radiator hoses with OEM hoses & spring clips, before I did all that I replaced the thermostat & thermostat gasket with an OEM thermo & gasket, where i ran into a problem was when i was attaching the housing back on I set my torque wrench to 13 ft. #s because you shouldn't go over 14 ft. #s, top & side bolts got a click from torque wrench, but the bottom bolt snapped off in the water pump, so i took a chance & installed everything, added Prestone flush & water in the radiator & let it run for a 1/2 an hour with no leaks from the housing, ....do you think i will be ok without the bottom bolt on the housing ??

 

Wow, the irony...

Keep an eye on the coolant level...

Maybe you need the permatex after all...or its a do-over, with bolt extraction.

I hate myself when I snapped heads off.

 

The vibration of driving Pot Holes Train Tracks etc might cause it to start to leak given time.

Using sealant along with the O ring is a personal thing

 

I'm hoping you're wrong Wyoming9, I'm keeping my fingers crossed & going to keep a watchful eye on it, yesterday was the last decent day sunny & 40 degrees going to drop down to the low 30s with wind chills in the 20s today & highs in the upper teens this weekend, & i have to work on it in my driveway, at least i have my trusty 93 Toyota x-tended cab pick up to hopefuly get me thru the winter if that housing starts leaking, I've been living alone for the past 5 yrs. & it's always been nice to have 2 vehicles in case one breaks down, no public transportation around me, .....too bad my dog is not a mechanic, he dont mind the cold like my old bones do, LOL !!, ...Pete

 

have Santa help!

 

Those might be studs in which case if you remove the thermostat housing it might not be too hard to remove.
Most of the time at least one of the studs comes out when I'm taking the housing off.
Did it break off flush with the housing?

I've never used a torque wrench on those.
If it was a 1/2" torque wrench they don't work well at the low end.

 

75w90mantraN, the only thing Santa helps me with, is to spend my money on every ones gifts, i say BAH HUMBUG, to Santa, LOL !!

 

Marc, thats what happened to me with the top & side nuts, the studs came out with the nuts, i was more worried about over tightening those & maybe cracking the housing, the bottom one the nut came off without the stud & thought that it would be the safest to tighten to 13 ft. #s,...well at least i didn't crack the housing, hopefully i can make it thru the winter with no leaks