VR6 thermostat housing fails lost all coolant

[itsagolf]

Yesterday the top pipe on the thermostat housing sheared off and all the coolant went too. I was just round the corner so just came straight back home with the temp light going crazy, probs 2-3 mins of slow driving.
Photo below shows the issue.



So now i need to replace the Thermostat housing, have a couple of questions.

From what i have read seems best to get a metal Thermostat Housing replacement kit, any views on the best place to get one from, have found 3 in the US, gruvenparts, eurowise or urotuning.
Any recommendations or are they all pretty good?

Should i also replace the crack pipe while i am at it and get a metal one?
Should I get the 80 degree thermostat or the 70 degree thermostat?

I found a good install guide on vortex and the same one on gruvenparts.

I am worried I might have done some damage to the engine I guess I won't really know until I get it all running again.

thanks
Paul

[HaydEn]

Just get a replacement plastic housing and standard temp thermostat.

The stock piece has lasted 25 years...


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[itsagolf]

Thanks Hayden, good point and the car doesn’t get driven every day I will check out the standard kits

[The_Hawk]

Ahh the crack pipe!

Shiny metal is nice, but is bling for bling sake. Great if that's what you're going for, otherwise as Hayden said, the original lasted plenty long enough.

[itsagolf]

Got the parts Thursday and did the replacement today. Just did the housing left the crack pipe along. Really enjoyed working on the car was a big step for me. Started her up once done with new coolant ran for 15 mins and no leaks will try a small drive tomorrow.

[itsagolf]

Had the car idling for a bit got up to normal temp no leaks. Did a small drive 30 mins, stopped off to check if the fans cut in and yes they did so fingers crossed am ok and the replacement has gone well. Feels good to do the work myself, bit nervous about driving further.
But so far no leaks or major hose issues, temp seems stable around 90 once it gets up to temp. Weather not exactly hot here in Victoria at the moment