I should have remembered our coolant was yellow and not green, it only stares me in the face every time I open the hood lol.

 

^^ HAH HAH ^^

The parts list:

Thermostat housing - lower
Thermostat housing - upper
Lower thermostat housing seal
Large O ring
Temperature sensor
Temperature sensor

Wierd thing is.....the coolant has not leaked at all yesterday evening or today????? knock on wood!

 

Maybe its not cracked and they are just assuming since it seems to be a pretty common issue. Where did you go to Tidwell?

 

Yeah, I went to Tidwell Ford near Barrett parkway. I bought it at off the used lot there.
There's definitely a leak, since there was a good bit of fluid on the garage floor. Man, maybe they are just assuming it's a cracked thermo housing????? Never know!!!! I will have my co-workers buddy take a look and let me know what I need to do. No rush....

 

Yea sounds like a good idea! Your coolant reservoir isn't leaking by any chance? They seem to separate where the 2 pieces join.

 

Any good shop will repair what is necessary to prevent you from having an issue again. And that is not necessarily just whatever is broken. The only parts I would question on your list is the 2 temperature sensors. And for anyones FYI, one sensor is for the gauge, the other is for the pcm. They can leak, but it is unlikely.
Alldata shows 2.7 hr labor time for upper and lower housing replacement (1.2 for upper & 1.5 for lower, one can assume that if the lower is coming off, the upper would be part of it, and should nt really add anything). They are obviously including a coolant flush in the $550 total (or am I assuming wrong?). Even with flush, I wouldnt be charging that much.

 

Have them show you the crack and how they determined it was indeed cracked.
Coolant could be leaking from ANYWHERE. They could just replace a hose clamp
and nail you for a thermostat housing and labor. If they can find the leak, why
can you not find it as well? They dont have x-ray vision up there at Tidwell,
do they? A UV dye in the coolant and a UV light will find the leak post haste.
I think they are stroking you as to where the coolant is leaking from.
I would check in the area on the backside of the water pump by the crank
for any sighns of coolant leaking.
About all you might get for your $500 is the ability to have the guarantee
they offer for their work that it wont continue to leak. Peace of mind,
sort of. But $500 lighter in the wallet area.

 

Btw, for future reference, brake fluid leaves your skin feeling dry when you touch it. Kinda hard to describe, kinda like 91% rubbing alcohol. Very easy to determine it

 

A co-worker has a friend that works as a mechanic for a local Ford dealership. He will look it over the car real good and let me know what is needed to fix the leak. Also, he is only the 1/3 of the cost! =-)

 

Great! I'm curious what it is if anything. How many miles do you have?