Dorman 902-1003 Engine Coolant Thermostat Housing Compatible with Select Ford / Lincoln / Mercury Models

The temperature sensor bung is the standard 3/8ths NPT. I didn't see that written anywhere but that's how it's threaded.I needed this for the electric fans on my Foxbody Mustang. I didn't want a sensor in the radiator hose so this was the next best option.I did not use the gasket that came with it, I used a FelPro gasket but the one that came with looks like it was fine and if I didn't have the FelPro then I would have no issue using the one that is included.Tech tip! When installing the thermostat any stock or aftermarket housing can crack if the thermostat slips out of place before the housing is tightened. To avoid this use some RTV gasket silicone and put three SMALL dabs on the thermostat and put that in the housing. Then put three small daps on the gasket where it hits the same housing but in different locations and put the gasket against the housing. This way when you install this housing onto the engine the thermostat and gasket will be kept in place.

Cast alloy fits perfectly

Just a very nice, finished product. Overall quality appears to be excellent, and the provided gasket saves you money.

Do yourself a favor and order the correct felpro gasket when you order this.

Normally we don’t have many problems with Dorman stuff but this housing is made wrong. I kept getting a random leak on the passenger side of the housing, at about 10 o’clock and possibly 7 o’clock. After some troubleshooting I realized the bypass tube is made too far outward. This causes a misalignment with the gasket. This means you have almost zero material clamping the gasket, causing a leak. I tried the Dorman gasket, felpro and ford with the glycol rated rtv. They all leaked.I used a pick too to gauge how far over the bypass tube was vs the gasket and I marked it. There’s maybe 1/8”, possibly less, of gasket material to seal.

I have always had good luck with Dorman products, but this one may not end up that way. I haven't installed it yet, but as others have mentioned, it's a rough casting. So rough that there seams to be quite a bit of grinding and metal removal at the factory to make it acceptable for a customer. I would think that with a better cast the amount of time cleaning up and getting rid of extra metal would save Dorman money when the part is made. But what do I know...I did find a pinhole in the seating surface for the thermostat, which may not be that big of a deal, but I can't tell where/if there is another end to that hole. I guess we will see once it's under pressure.The sealing/gasket suface that mates to the car was really rough. Maybe some gasket sealer would make it work, but I still cleaned it up considerably by running it across some 150 sandpaper on a flat surface.My other out of the box issue is the gasket vs the location of the holes on the housing. They are far enough off for me that I won't be using the gasket sent with the order. Luckily I have another gasket which isn't perfect either, but is much closer.You'll see in one of the pictures attached that I put a small red arrow where the Dorman gasket is so far off that the seat for the thermostat can be seen in the hole cutout for the bypass. Again, because of the kind of part it is and where the "leak" would be says it's a non-issue, but I would still expect the gasket to match up with the housing much better.Lucky for me, the existing housing on my car is good, I just bought this thinking it would save me some dowtime for my electric fan conversion because I would have a new part to replace the old. I guess were going to find out!

Like another guy that ordered this. I needed a place to mount a temperature sensor in the cooling system for an electric fan. Also I was lucky to have a correct gasket because the one included was for something else. Kinda weird, but whatever....

Good quality fast shipping