Hi, I need to replace my expansion tank as half the cap is stuck in it, i have spent hours trying to get it out without any joy, would i be best of getting a genuine ford tank and cap or would an after market one from ebay be ok, thanks

43 minutes ago, steplce74 said:

Hi, I need to replace my expansion tank as half the cap is stuck in it, i have spent hours trying to get it out without any joy,

Would be intrigued to see a photo of it in order to suggest a method to relieve it of the half stuck cap!

Ebay tank will be fine, but they're not expensive from Ford (or weren't when I last bought one!).

There are quite a few threads on this, although mostly on Fiesta's for some reason.

I put a thin layer of red rubber grease on both of the cap o-rings and now it now comes out far easier. Supposedly removing and refitting the cap once a month stops it from sticking.

As for removing the old cap, I wonder if removing the tank, blocking one of the pipes and pressurising it with compressed air would pop the broken half of the cap out?

When mine was stuck I got it out by putting detached part of cap back on, used car until engine hottish but not fully hot , then took top of cap off and pressure pushed the bottom bit up. Be careful, chance of scolding hot steam. 

i will give that a try, thank you

no joy, tried all sorts to get the rest of cap out, feels like its glued in

On 3/31/2022 at 4:28 PM, TomsFocus said:

Ebay tank will be fine, but they're not expensive from Ford (or weren't when I last bought one!).

There are quite a few threads on this, although mostly on Fiesta's for some reason.

tank £33 from ford plus vat, cap £6.99 plus vat, ebay tank £15 including cap and will need anti freeze as well, but just concerned the ebay item will crack over time and could cause cooling issues 

1 hour ago, steplce74 said:

tank £33 from ford plus vat, cap £6.99 plus vat, ebay tank £15 including cap and will need anti freeze as well, but just concerned the ebay item will crack over time and could cause cooling issues 

If you're not prepared to take the risk, buy the Ford, but that's the one that already broke on you! I'd go for the Ebay one personally, but it's your dime...

59 minutes ago, steplce74 said:

tank £33 from ford plus vat, cap £6.99 plus vat, ebay tank £15 including cap and will need anti freeze as well, but just concerned the ebay item will crack over time and could cause cooling issues 

Blimey, price has definitely gone up since I last bought one!  Was about £17 for the genuine tank & cap back then.

Aftermarket caps can be pretty poor as they're engineered to hold a certain amount of pressure, but the tanks are pretty much the same material and manufacturing process.  Given the age of the car, it's probably not worth going Ford.  But if you keep the car for another 3 years or more, perhaps expect to have to replace it again.