Today I replaced the thermostat on a 1994 toyota corolla. The only gasket I could see was a rubber ring that sits on the edge of the thermostat and gets sandwiched between the engine head and the thermostat cover.
Also in the Haynes manual they said to put the rubber ring on the thermostat, but said nothing about any other gasket. So I'm assuming that I am tightening up the two halves on this soft rubber ring. There was some chalky deposite around the thermostat, Could that be the remains of some kind of liquid rubber gasket I'm wondering?
In the Haynes manual it says to tighten to 4 ft lbs. I dont have a torque wrench, can anyone think of a novel way that I might get some idea of what this is, using a small socket set? (apart from a ruler and a weight of course, which is a bit complicated).
Do mechanics in the toyota dealership use torque wrenches for such things i wonder? I know Richard up the road, who's been working on cars for thirty years; as far as i know only uses torque wrenches on crucial things like cylinder heads.
I do wonder how crucial this torque setting is? Obviously I've got the idea I'm tightening up on to rubber so must not go too mad. Any advice to a novice gratefully received.