Thermostat 2008 Ka

[tinytimothy]

Bought 2008 Zetec 1.3 Ka for daughter 3 years ago; had to replace heater valve 2 years ago and also £500 bodywork repair around fuel filler as per normal KA foibles. Last week over heat light came on , fan running continuously, heater working but radiator cold so diagnosed blocked thermostat.

Taking advice from various forums I decided to replace the entire housing including thermostat etc. Just as well, the housing was in an awful state, crud everywhere, inside plastic crumbling, rubber gasket warped (although surprisingly no leak) and pitting corrosion on the aluminium head.

Access quite easy once the air filter box removed but could not get at the clip on the big hose at the back but was able to once the housing removed and pulled forward, a special tool is advised for the clips but a smallish Mole (vice) grip worked OK..

Thoroughly cleaned the front of the head and back flushed the radiator.

Purchased Thermostat Housing  from Eurocarparts for less than £40 manufactured by Circoli. Looked identical but could not get the bolt holes to line up, took it back, got another one, same problem.

Then had to buy part from from Ford as running out of time and daughter needed car fro work. Part cost £120 inc VAT. Fitted exactly.

All housings included the thermostat, temperature sensor and built in gasket so no other parts required.

Fitted hoses using a little olive oil to ease back on; filled with coolant, Ran engine before fitting air filter box so I could check for leaks; bled radiator from little valve at top on passenger side using coin and small hand to undo. Let engine run with filler cap off to allow more air to escape and topped up as necessary. Ran engine until fan started cycling checked radiator warm and heater working and checked head temp with infra red thermometer; maximum 84 degrees; no leaks. Fitted air box. Bought ice cream in Remo's. Went home.

MORAL: In 50 years of repairing, restoring and maintaining cars I have never had a problem with an after market product but in this case I would recommend the Ford part. It would have save me 3 hours of driving round  and a lot of irritation.

Tools required: 8mm spanner, mole grips, long nose pliers, short and long flat and phillips screwdrivers; thread sealant; spare hose clips

NB housing bolts only need even gentle tightening, no gasket sealant is required; while the air box is off check to seeif the air filter needs replacing.

Hope this helps other users....

Edited May 21, 2016 by tinytimothy
typos

[Omendata]

I am a kit car builder - our motto is always "if it doesnt fit , make it fit".

 

Could you not have drilled new holes or "modded" the aftermarket part?

And are you sure it was for a KA?

Did you use the Number Plate to search as its usually more accurate than just drilling down the menus?

And remember there are different years of manufacture where parts change!

 

Post the link on eurocarparts - I have never had a problem with them!
Part is £46.99

 

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Ford_Ka_1.3_2008/p/car-parts/cooling/car-cooling-parts-and-car-heating/car-thermostat/?209590260&1&5e6a489d2525b62badbc4e125b03ed3f0ac9e462&000325

[tinytimothy]

Thanks for reply, Gary. I did use the Reg No and  checked the year etc. The link you post is the part I bought with a 20% discount to bring it below £40. I did consider drilling out the holes but each hole has a metal bush set inside slightly flexible rubber to allow for expansion & contraction. I could not have done this without destroying the bush and if it did not work I could not have returned the part. I also spoke to another Motor Factors to try and get a different brand and they said they had had similar problems with this particular part and had had to return many to the manufacturers. I reported the issue to Eurocarparts

[Omendata]

Thanks for replying.

Never had a problem with Eurocarparts but they are having a lot of sales recently - A bit like DFS lol

I wonder if they are having problems , lots of firms going out of business but they have saved me quite a lot on parts over the years?

Useful to know anyway as I have a rather nasty cabin leak which looks like it may be thermostat or heater related so may be looking for a spare.

I usually always use eBay for spare parts from accident damaged cars or the local junkyard and never bought a Lemon in 30 years!