I had a mechanic look at my car after i noticed coolant leaking. I thought it was water pump but he told me the lower intake gasket needed replaced. He said he dont do that work so i have to find another shop to fix this. Is this a simple job i could do on my own or is this something advanced? Im just looking for some additional advise on this. Thanks!

 

Careful... The 4.0L's are notorious for leaking from the PLASTIC, yes, PLASTIC thermostat housing. The leak often appears to be coming from other locations causing many incorrect diagnosis. I'd look into the t-stat housing before you let someone rip into the engine and rip YOU off.

 

Whats the best way to determine if t-stat is leaking. I was looking at it and it looked dry around that area. Unless it leaking from the back and cant see it?

 

The back side is where it typically leaks. If there is coolant in the valley it is most likely the thermostat housing.

 

This is how it splits:


Look at it to see if there is any evidence toward the back - this view is a little different because I had the Xcharger Xtreme on mine so the top is oriented differently but you can see the coolant that sprayed back under the intake. If you are N/A you can probably look back under the intake if you don't see the split in your thermostat housing. Removal when the car is N/A is easy and about a 20 minute job (with the Xcharger Xtreme I had to remove the supercharger to get to one bolt)