Soooo... I get the smart idea to change my thermostat since the car is taking forever to warm up.

Go to undo the 2 bolts..

one snaps. dammit!
other one comes out easily, no problems.

get it apart... torch the bolt and grab it with vise grips, get it out yay!

replace the thermostat, put it all back together, make a new gasket, finger-tighten bolts, wait 1 hour, tighten bolts, etc.

back it out of the garage
drive around, steam keeps coming out from under the hood (after like 30 minutes of driving).. car warms up now at least
but I looked where I made the gasket and it's all dry around there, any idea as to where it could be coming from now?

damn cars lol.

 

Did you use that shitty gasket maker stuff, or cut one yourself from paper?
I have never had great success with the "form a gasket" stuff. Very crappy. Those pre-cut gaskets are $1 or so, you know.

 

yeah, but those pre-cut gaskets aren't available at 7:30 on a wednesday night, 40 miles from the nearest mazda dealer

I'll probably go get some gasket stuff tomorrow, hopefully its leaking at a slow enough rate to get me to work and back, I'm pretty sure it is.

 

if you spilt any coolant it can take a while to burn off (steam) been there done that

 

there is coolant sealer specifically made for this. i didnt use it before, but after trying it, damn its worth the $5 or whatever it costs for a tube. have to let it dry for a hour or so then torque the t-stat down completely.

use this in conjunction with a gasket and it will seal for years. (or atleast until you next have to replace it) g'luck