# Thermostat Housing Leak



## NickRabbit (Dec 18, 2018)

Searched the YouTubers and the Googlers, and not having much luck on finding good info on replacing the housing. I can see the crack and leak from it from under the car. My question is, how tough of a job is this for an amateur/non-mechanic that's not afraid to try? It looks like I need to tear half the motor apart to get to this thing, is that the case? Or am I looking at it all wrong?  
Thanks in advance. 

2002 2.8 Passat


----------



## wmorrison65 (Sep 7, 2014)

Did you find an answer? Are you talking about the part that the lower radiator hose connects to on the lower end (and another hose) and runs kind of northeast behind the timing belt to the end the thermostat is actually behind?

I'm in the middle of that myself. Found that the "correct" way to replace the thermostat is to remove the timing belt, but saw a video of someone just working the housing over and wiggling out the thermostat.

I tried that, it cracked my housing. Local VW dealership mechanic told me they always replace the housings anyway with a thermostat because they never seem to seal right when reused.

I found my timing belt and/or tensioner was about shot anyway, so I've got a new housing and thermostat and will replace it while doing the timing belt job.


----------

