Thermostat Housing and Oil Filter Housing

More bits and bobs have been stripped, cleaned and painted in recent evenings. The high temp paint I bought provides a surprisingly good finish…

… and the other side of the housing with the thermostat in view

Component parts. The thermostat (brass piece) is in the *open* position…. but given it’s at room temperature, it should be in the *closed* position…. that’s going on the parts list then.

A few evenings and a few coats of high temp paint later (with new stainless bolts) and its ready for new gaskets

Next up it’s the oil filter housing. A curious design… inside this metal housing is a disposable paper filter. The oil pump in the sump of the engine, pushes oil through the filter and back to the engine. It’s a system that works effectively…. So far so good

But… Due to the angle at which this is mounted on the engine block, changing the paper oil filter can be entertaining. Readers who have ever changed the paper filter in one of these will be familiar with wiping used engine oil form their armpit. Anyone not familiar with this ritual can get in touch.

That won’t do…. Needs a good clean up. The alloy body will not be painted but the housing will. The temperature sender will be tested to make sure it’s still working. The banjo bolt allows an hydraulic pipe to be run to the oil pressure gauge in the cab.

Cleaning the inside of the housing was a nasty job. Old congealed engine oil is a real pleasure to remove… but at the suggestion of a friend, I have bought some latex gloves which made the job more bearable. Rust, crud and old paint was buzzed off the housing and alloy body.

A few coats of high temp paint and we’re done 🙂

It looks a lot better but will still shoot a load of used oil in ones armpit every 3000 miles

…. and on a final note, and slightly off topic, I fitted some LED lengths in the garage to brighten up a little this over the work bench. 15 CHF well spent.