[gnx547]

I'm going to replace the thermostat on my escort and I don't see a regular thermostat housing. Is the thermostat located on top hose going to the block?

 

[Obliterous]

the thermostat housing is directly underneath the coil pack, bolted directly to the head.

 

[escortrio]

watch out the thermostat bolts break easily. sometimes they build up alot of rust.

helps to take the coil pack bracket off to get to one of the bolts

 

[lobewiper]

watch out the thermostat bolts break easily. sometimes they build up alot of rust.

This happened on my 95 and I was lucky the Ford tech had a drawerful of used bolts. The bolts are not available through Ford parts any more. There is a fairly good chance one or more bolts will break and depending on where the break is, they may have to be drilled out. I would consider having a Ford dealership do this work, because they do it all the time.

 

[denisond3]

And when you put the bolts back in, be sure to coat them either with an antisieze compound, or thread locker or a little grease. Also scrape the head if there is any buildup of corrosion, to get down to real aluminum for the gasket to seal to.

 

[lobewiper]

And when you put the bolts back in, be sure to coat them either with an antisieze compound, or thread locker or a little grease. Also scrape the head if there is any buildup of corrosion, to get down to real aluminum for the gasket to seal to.

I think a thread locker would serve to make them more likely to break off in the future...

 

[madmatt2024]

Not necessarily. The thread locker acts like a barrier between the threaded hole and the bolt. Moisture can't get between the threads with the locker on them so they won't rust in place.

 

[gnx547]

watch out the thermostat bolts break easily. sometimes they build up alot of rust.

helps to take the coil pack bracket off to get to one of the bolts

That is what I'm afraid of :x My escort has 117,000 miles on it and I don't know if the previous owner replaced the thermostat, should I just leave it?

 

[lobewiper]

If it's currently working O.K., leave it alone. You also might want to get a CD repair manual on Ebay for five or ten dollars.

 

[lobewiper]

Not necessarily. The thread locker acts like a barrier between the threaded hole and the bolt. Moisture can't get between the threads with the locker on them so they won't rust in place.

I thought that was the purpose of the anti-seize compound.

 

[madmatt2024]

The anti-seize compound does that to. The thread locker is basically a glue but it still fills up the spaces in the threads and prevents rust.