The gasket has a scooped out part where the vent (rattle pin) fits. Then the purpose of the2 little **** is they fit into little cavities in the T-stat housing. That forces the vent to be installed in the proper orientation.

 

Thermostats can break in strange ways.

PA: I agree with you regarding the end results when stuck open and closed, but the actuator is a bi-metalic piece and they can fail in a lot of different ways. Some will simply not move as far as they should causing the problem to show up very slowly and the car will appear normal for short to moderate driving even after the problem has surfaced. Sometimes the 2 metals can get seperated and the problem sets on immediately and the symptoms can be anywhere in between. Having owned a domestic that used to kill thermostats twice a year (eventually I only used it in the winter), I've seen the whole gammut of t'stat failure first hand. I'm not saying that this is definately the problem here, but it is likely and it's and easy diagnosis to just remove it.

DC: Keep us posted!

 

i would advice to have a shop where she is at to take a look at the issue preferably a shop that specializes on Hondas ,,,the reason being this could turn from a minor repair to a major one ( head gasket, )if she continues to drive the car and engine keeps on overheating

 

Does anyone know of a place south of Charlotte, NC off of 485 near the Pineville exit. Somebody you would recomend. Of coarse we always knew we could take it toa shop and take a chance. I didn't want to send her just anywhere and especially not having a good idea as to what the problem is.

I think it is the way I installed the thermostat that may have caused the leak based above and without seeing it. I don't get good input from my daughter.

 

Good point desert. I forgot that she is still driving with this problem!

DC: I think that you seem to have an idea of what the problem can be, so I'd have her bring it to a shop ASAP for diagnostics at least. Call the mechanic and tell him what you think that it could be to start them in the right direction and also to explain the problem to them. From this thread, I'd expect that you'd be better explaining this than your daughter. If it's just the t'stat, it shouldn't cost you much more than 50 bucks to have it replaced. Regardless, it should be fixed ASAP to avoid needing a new head gasket for around $1000. If the head gasket blows your cylinder compression, coolant and oil can be effected and may never be able to be brought back to specifications. Be careful how long you let this problem sit around for!

 

I think I finally got that sucker. I just had a chance to look at the car last night. It was what I thought. I hadn't put the gasket on the thermostat on correctly. In hind sight, it seems pretty stupid of me not to at least have the little **** lined up with the notches. But I didn't even realize the gasket was split until after the car was gone for at least a week. The gasket that I had installed improperly was actually cut from being misaligned.

It was leaking on the bottom where it would be hard to see. Anyway may I think its good.

 

Glad that it is fixed ,, and thanks for posting the diagnostic results and repair ..

 

A simple fix, but many good items discussed here. Lots to learn for people with similar problems.

 

I noticed in the last two replies the suggestion(s)to look for help before asking for help. I've not experience the same "attitude" from other forums that I am a part of . To the contrary, I have searched for answers on the fordtruckenthusiast.com forum to the point I was chastised for not posting enough or searching too much without posting. I remember when I first joined this site feeling like posting and interacting was not welcome. I find you folks very helpful and I appreciate it. I think you two guys are probably the ones that offer a large amount of the help on this site. Maybe it is your job to answer every request for solutions. I certainly don't intend to burden anybody that doesn't want to be bothered.

 

DC, please understand that we are not bothered by legitamate questions. If you look at how many times people have asked about cat-backs for example, this bothers us. Also, the signature thing is to help us help whoever is posting. I've personally wasted hours searching for links and parts for people to find out that what I found doesn't work because the car is a different trim or # of doors. Another topic that I and others have answered is about SRI vs. CAI or what is a good intake. Anything unique or that is not posted daily we'd be happy to help with. As far as my job, I am an HVAC designer and a mechanical engineer. Cars are my hobby and I enjoy helping people ..... my advice here is for free. Your questions were not a burden and I think that many peole can learn about problems and how to test and narrow down the possibilities. If this were a bother to me, I wouldn't have posted my ideas or been on here as much as I am. Again, I'm glad that your problem is solved and that it didn't cost you an arm and a leg.