Had a bad day today. Simple job went wrong. The 8mm pipe that runs from the expansion tank over the top of the engine was leaking. A well known problem caused by heat making the original pipe brittle.

So I bought a length of new pipe and set about removing the old one. No problem. Went to push the new pipe on the connector at the front of the engine and 'snap' the plastic connector broke off.

Now I have to replace the whole plastic unit at the front but what is it? Could be a thermostat housing or similar.

(Then when putting the big plastic engine cover back on I dropped a fastener down the side of the engine and lost it, doh!)

Yeah, it does suck that it broke. However, it was on it's way out. Take this opportunity to replace the plastic thermostat housing with a new aluminum one. Replace the thermostat itself, the black coolant pipe in front of it, the 2" long hose between them and preferably the waterpump with a metal impeller. Our cars are getting older and it's bound to fail.

Consider yourself lucky that it did not fail on you when you were on the road. Do as suggested and replace with the new aluminum housing.

+1 on being lucky, Scruggs.

I had a valley hose blow a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully I was just between towns and with the aid of a couple of pitchers of water, was able to get her home. I agree with Addicted - replace everything you can touch while doing this. I'm so thankful this didn't happen while on one of my fairly frequent long cross country trips. I have to believe that the labor costs alone would have easily topped $2,000.

Thanks for the responses guys.

I was begining to think that I was a bit heavy handed to break it in the first place. Obviously the heat makes everything brittle.

Will source the ally alternatives.

Retards

Scruggs

I've been replacing every single gasket and seal all the way down to the intake manifold and it's amazing how all the rubber has been reduced to hard plastic. They've come in out in pieces and shards. I'm gonna sleep much easier knowing these are all new. So, your sense that heat takes its toll is spot-on.

For something like your all-metal thermostat housing, don't forget to consider used ones.

WOW!!

His car is a 03, no alum tstat version avail yet.

Oops!! You're right! I'm used to the X308's. I keep forgetting the XK's are a year ahead.

Ooops my bad. Combination of heavy duty fingers and an I Pad mini.


So reading the other replies it looks like I am stuck with another plastic housing.

You can do yourself a favor and replace the entire thing. It is all the plastic parts, o-rings, thermostat and sensor. Here in the US, it can be had for about $100. Might want to add the upper radiator hose, too (mine had failed, bulging out). The hose should come with the proper spring clamps. This can all be done with minimum coolant loss. Also, in order to remove the back bolts of the housing neck, right off of the top of the engine, the front metal plate to the intake needs to be removed. Some folks replace the green gasket for this plate, too. Budget maybe 2 hours for this job, no big deal.

Obviously, once you are there, there is an argument to be made to go ahead and replace the water pump and serpentine belt, and flush the coolant for good measure. DEXCOOL is 5 years, 100,000 miles, I believe, so your call.

Best of luck, keep us posted.