Q: Is it safe to drive when the thermostat housing bolt is broken?

asked by on April 13, 2016

I broke one of the three bolts holding the thermostat housing. There was a test drive with no issues or leaks. How safe is to drive this way?

If it doesn’t leak and you’ve got the other two bolts on tight then you should be okay. But here is what I would advise you to do: I would take it off again, take the two bolts off, and there is a really good gasket maker that you can just spray on--it’s made by Permatax and it’s called "the right stuff" just like that movie with Tom Cruise.

It really works great. A can of it is expensive, maybe 20-something dollars, but it works, and I use it all the time. Then, when you tighten the other two and seal them into a whole, you will probably never have leaks after this.

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