Hi,

ive ordered a replacement upper hose, aluminium thermostat housing and outlet pipe as I’m a little tired of having to replace coolant every other week...

it it seems like a relatively straightforward job to replace these parts, but are there any tips or things to watch out for? The weather is supposed to be good tomorrow so hoping to get it done in the afternoon.

Cheers.

 

The one main problem you will have is getting to one of the rear fasteners. When I did mine I took a pair of large pliers and broke the the plastic tower into pieces giving access to the rear fastener. I then swapped the fasteners for socket head allen cap screws so that i could reach the rear fastener with a ball head allen wrench to tighten down. The alternative is to remove the intake manifold for access, heat and bend a wrench and a crows foot wrench.
The only other tip is to make sure that the tiny hole with the wiggle pin is at the top when installed.
Oooops almost forgot. A lot of the after market kits come with some paper gaskets. Throw them away they are not used. The base mount is sealed with an O-Ring and the thermostat has a rubber ring wrapped around the outside. I had trouble on one of cars getting the O-Ring for the top cap to seal. My solution was to cut a rubber disc and use it in place of the O-Ring.

 

I bought the following tool when I replaced the thermostat tower on an XJ8 a few years ago.


It worked fine without removing the intake manifold and I was even able to re-use the bolts that came out.

 

I changed mine last fall and I bent a wrench on the socket end and got to it, worked out good. also be sure to change the thermostat. Thanks

 

Do a google search for thermostat replacement, etc. There are years of threads on this topic with lots of good advice. Most of the time it is easy and straightforward: occasionally, someone runs into rear bolts that are too long (bad grab by the assembly guy, maybe) and you have to raise the intake manifold. I was lucky, broke off old housing from the back bolts, as Avern noted, I then found the shortest bolts for the back when I reinstalled. It is a pressure fit against the rubber gasket, so it doesn't need a lot of torque: what worked for me was to use a dremel tool to cut a slot in the bolts so I could use a thin, long screwdriver to tighten the back down. Then I spent tons of money trying to find just the right wrench to get more torque (thinnest wrench worked, if only five degrees of throw each grab), but found it never leaked after tightening with the screwdriver! Others have used special bolts with Allen or Torx heads (google search will uncover those threads). Might as well do the water pump, belts, and the cross over pipe (with new temp sensor) and the stubby, while you are at it.

Might be useful if you put your vehicle data in your signature. Older X308s may find the belt tensioner to be fragile, takes care; also don't rest your hand on the thin black plastic pipe on the radiator's left side -- broke mine changing the water pump; ordered a new one, installed it; took the car in for an oil change at the dealer a few months later, noted that there was an even newer black pipe (tech had left the price tag on the one he installed, after breaking the one I installed. It just too easy to rest your hand on it. . . .