Pinto Car Club of America

I have a 77 wagon with a 2.8 v-6 its running a little warm, towards the high side of normal.I went to replace the thermostat and its not where I thought it was, at the top radiator hose on the intake.I bought a new one with gasket at parts store.Is it in a different place or does it not have one? Where I thought it went theres no grove for it to recess in and the opening isnt exactly round.Boy do I feel dumb! Can any one help?    Thanks for the info.

Your thermostat is in the LOWER radiator hose on that engine.  Be sure not to over tighten the bolts when installing as they are VERY easy to strip out.

Thanks for the info

there will be 3 bolts. they are 10 millimeter. and there are two gaskets one for each side of the thermostat housing. it will be on the lower drive side raditor hose/timing gear cover
. if your cooling problems dont go away. you might have a blown headgasket. its a common problem with the v6. or it could be cracks in one of the heads. thats another problem with the v6. also when was the last time you have had a cooling flush. radiator maintance is important. i hope everything goes well. cromcru

I am guessing we are talking about the factory temp gauge?  If its one thing I have leaned over the years its not to trust a factory gauge too far.  Since you have owned this car has the gauge changed position from a lower operating temp or has it always run in that position?  If this is just where that temp gauge is going to sit than you might not have any problems at all.  You can set up a temporary gauge under the hood to see what the car is really running.  A good cooling system flush by an actual machine (instead of a garden house) followed by the correct coolant mixture being installed may lower the operating temps also.  What is the condition of the mechanical fan clutch?  I would make sure this kind of stuff is out of the way before jumping up to the bigger stuff.  If you are going to change out the T-stat make sure to either buy the one with the little bypass hole in the base (about a 1/16 diameter) or put on it the T-stat you buy.

Jake

Changing thermostats in a v-6 is a lot of fun.  So much fun that i relocated mine.  when you take the 3 bolts out, there is a funny looking plate on the back that may come loose as well, it is shaped like .....  well its funny looking, and you will be working blind to put it back on,  best advice is move the power steering pump out of your way, and the bracket that protects the fuel pump. even with these out of the way, it will still be fun.   Before doing all this, I would check the temp of the coolant with a thermometer to make sure that it is running a little warm, and not just a faulty sensor or gauge.