cyclop5

Ok, new here, and I realize that's a dumb title, but it's kind of accurate. I'm leaking antifreeze on my 2005 V6, and I can see where it's leaking from. It looks like the thermostat housing bolts onto (something) - same thing where (I think) the Coolant Temp Sensor is. Matter of fact, the little plug next to the sensor is what *seems* to be leaking.

So, what's the part, and any idea how hard to find/replace? I'm reasonably skilled, so no worries there. Just haven't seen a design quite like this before.

Thanks for the help.

jimkaray

The thermostat housing is a two piece upper and lower design, both plastic. The most common issue is that the plastic will crack over time and start to leak. Often it cracks bad enough and quickly enough that it won't be drivable so take care of it asap. You can search the forum for thermostat housing leak and aluminum thermostat housing. The plastic will sometimes last a long time and for others it has failed pretty early on in the vehicles life. The aluminum housing is an aftermarket solution to the plastic cracking issue.

It isn't very hard to replace, you'll find a parts list in earlier threads. Check RockAuto.com for some pricing and I believe the aluminum housing is permanently listing up on ebay,

cyclop5

Wow. Ok. Yeah, this one cracked fast enough that I towed it home. For the record - 115k miles, if anyone cares.

Thanks for the info. Guess it's time to see if I can find one over the weekend. Maybe plastic for now, and metal next time I work on her. (unless I find metal faster)

jimkaray

Hopefully the price of the lower has come down as it wasn't cheap.
115k isn't bad. Some failed as early as 40 or 50 as I recall. I did a preventive maint swap on mine around 140 so they are unpredictable.

2007StangV6

There is a place that sells the metal housing. I believe it's on Ebay. People here have bought it and said that it works great. Might as well get the metal replacement and be done with it.

I replaced mine around 75k-ish. My parents have about 110k with the stock housing and still going strong. Like Jim said, they are unpredictable.

Derf00

Reminds me of the plastic intake manifold on the SN95 and New edge V8 Mustangs (97-01) that used to crack where the thermostat was. It was so bad that Ford ended up losing a class action lawsuit and caused them to have to do a retrofit on the part for those cars that still needed it or reimburse the owners (who had receipts) the cost of their repairs for the related failure. (Up to $735)

In other words, hang on to that receipt


Sources: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/ford-news-and-recalls
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/185

Ford Agrees to Settle Plastic Manifold Lawsuit

Owners may get reimbursement of at least $735
06/21/2005 | ConsumerAffairs


Ford Motor Co. has agreed to settle customer lawsuits over alleged defects in the intake manifoldsof as many as two million vehicles.

The settlement was filed in federal court in Oakland, Calif. Ford will pay owners of some Mercury Grand Marquis, Lincoln Town Cars and Ford Crown Victorias at least $735 to reimburse them for repairs made because of faulty manifolds, which route air to an engine's cylinders.

Car owners claimed in a class action that Ford installed plastic intake manifolds that were prone to cracking and causing coolant leaks on some 1996 to 2001 models. The settlement could cost Ford as much as $375 million if every customer files a claim.

Ford doesn't admit liability by settling the lawsuit.

Under the agreement, Ford will reimburse consumers with receipts for repairs related to the intake manifold. The Dearborn-based company will also pay $735 to anyone without receipts who verifies with a company dealership that the repair was made, the agreement said.

Ford will also extend the life of warranties of customers who haven't had manifold failures, according to the agreement. This could cost Ford additional money to replace manifolds in the future. Ford will also pay for notifying car owners about the settlement. The settlement is subject to court approval.

The settlement covers 1996 through 2001 models of the Mercury Grand Marquis, Lincoln Town Car and Ford Crown Victoria, as well as certain Mercury Cougars, Ford Thunderbirds and Mustangs built before 2002.

Nuke

Welcome to the world of Stangs where chronic problems plague nearly every model year (that's the bad news) and welcome to the forum where all those chronic issues (and then some) have a lot of history with regards to the cause and the fix (that's the good news).

traumamed

Here is the link for the metal thermostat housing:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/05-10-mustang-4-0-V6-metal-thermostat-housing-/300956632610?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A2007%7CModel%3AMustang&hash=item461269c622&vxp=mtr
My OEM t'stat housing went at 73K. I did not go for the metal option. If you're interested, Autozone sells a fully assembled housing with new thermostat already installed in it, I think I paid less than $100 for it. I picked up a new temp sensor at the same time...figured why not while I was in there.

cyclop5

Thanks all for the info. Replaced it with a plastic one (for now). But definitely will look into the metal one. Sure does seem like a poor design. But of course, I'm not an engineer or anything

And next time I promise I'll do a little more "searching" on the forums before asking a duplicated question. Was just a little panicked at the time. I hate seeing my car on the back of a flatbed.

_aztec69stang_

Be happy you caught it when you did I was in stop and go traffic with no where to turn off when the entire assembly separated into two pieces. Was a pretty scary moment but she still runs like a top!