RE: Thermostat

[John Hofstetter <hofs@domain.elided>]

>John,
>
>I called AutoZone and they stock the Robertshaw RST-370-180 for $4.99.  They
>also claim to have the outlet gasket.  BTW the '79 Scout 345 is a listed
>application in the Robertshaw catalog.  

Wow, that's half the price of Summit. As I told you, everywhere I checked 
out here only carried Stant. Before Summit sends a rebuttal to the 
digest, I buy a lot of stuff from Summit and I bought my thermostat from 
them, and I don't want to make them mad, and ....... (g)
>
>Is there anything special about taking off the thermostat housing.
No, it's straight forward. As I remember (Heaven help us), the bypass 
hose can stay hooked up, and you only need to remove the top part of the 
housing provided you don't disturb the gasket and seal on the bottom 
half. However, it would be a really good time to replace that accursed 
bypass hose, if you haven't done it lately, as it is subject to failure 
at all the wrong times, and is a bear to change out in the field.
>
>While I'm at it I will drill and tap the water outlet for an air removal
>port.  One thing I've noticed on the 345 is a problem that I continually
>have with my '90 Aerostar.  The design didn't put the radiator cap/overflow
>at the highest point in the system.  The result of this is that it is
>virtually impossible to get the cooling system full of fluid and get all the
>air out.  I've been trying.  The presence of an overflow tank does not
>guarantee air removal,  before the Aerostar I always thought it did.  On the
>Aerostar my bleed port has been the only way to get air out of the system.
>Believe me this makes a difference in the cooling operation.  It doesn't so
>much effect overall temperature as it does hot spots in the engines.   I'll
>let you know how it goes.

Good, that information would be useful, although I hadn't been aware of a 
problem. I usually pump the top radiator hose by squeezing it, and I was 
under the impression that I was getting the air out.
>
>Thanks for the tip!

You're certainly welcome.
John H.