How much for a new thermostat on my 2003 TBird?

[Micke]

Hi TBird friends, my car overheated and I took it into my usual shop that I highly trust. I had heard a gurgling or boiling sound and turned it off immediately. The gauge was on high. My mechanic ran a computer test and said it had indeed overheated. After looking at the issue he says it's just the thermostat sticking. He said in any other car it would be a quick easy fix but that in the TBird we have to replace an entire housing or something. He said parts and labor will be $550. Just wanted to ask here if you guys think that's pretty much expected (in Indiana)? I do trust this shop but just thought I should make sure. Thanks so much, you guys always come through for me.

[BLACK BEAUTY]

way high I'd say

[Birdlover]

way high I'd say

I would tend to agree, Greg. I had it done at the Ford garage maybe 3 years ago and thermostat, housing, etc I think cost me $350 to $400.

[carntz]

I would tend to agree, Greg. I had it done at the Ford garage maybe 3 years ago and thermostat, housing, etc I think cost me $350 to $400.

Then 550.00 today might just be right. I personally don't know of anything that went down in price since three years ago

[15AGAIN]

I changed mine and did not replace the housing, I did work and cost some where around $15.00 for thermostat at auto zone

[steelblue5505]

I would tend to think that if the overheat did not cause any physical damage to the housing that the thermostat fits into as well as no damage to the tubing, hoses & stuff then your "trusted" garage is way over priced. The thermostat is up on top easily reachable with little coolant to be lost. However if your "trusted" garage is also servicing the coolant system with a complete flush & coolant replacement and does the correct burping procedure than possibly his price is a good value.

[Elky64]

Depends who your mechanic is. See my reply to Tbear as it all applies to you too. If your parts are fairly new, you may not need much, If they are 10+ yrs old then close inspection should be done. I feel our systems are modern, complicated Euro type cooling systems. Not like American conventional cooling systems. Ours won't take the abuse of say an older American V8. IMHO
Al

[Gobird]

My Ford dealer just changed mine the end of Aug. this year for $165.00. That included flushing the system. Your getting overcharged.

[jerrym3]

2014, antifreeze and thermostat in my Lincoln LS. $148.

[428PI]

I would say the thermostat is perhaps a 25 percent chance of causing your overheating. If you want a reliable car you might consider replacing the thermostat and housing and also the housing that goes onto your engine at a right angle and even consider replacing your water pump and hoses. The water pump impeller is made of plastic and can wear and cause overheating. Are you sure you didn't get the coolant level low by having a leak in the overflow pressure tank. I'd say that's a more realistic cause of overheating. I've had a Lincoln LS I never could get from overheating at least on an extended drive (could have been the radiator) and finally made the decision to quit working on it. (it also had an intake vacuum leak when cold and one intake bolt about broke trying to gain clearance for the plastic housing that goes at a right angle).

[Micke]

THANK YOU everyone!!! I will take all of this into consideration and decide what to do from here. As always, you've been a huge helpl

[stewbob]

My Ford dealer just changed mine the end of Aug. this year for $165.00. That included flushing the system. Your getting overcharged.

agree with Spence had mine done in 2013 at ford for 128.00 included thermostat asy with seal

[BLACK BEAUTY]

I changed my thermostat $15, housing $15 and seal for $14 and labor $40..total $84...that was in 2014.

[Brad]

THANK YOU everyone!!! I will take all of this into consideration and decide what to do from here. As always, you've been a huge helpl

If your car overheated there is a good chance the excess heat did damage to the plastic housing. Given that this part is a common point of failure it was probably a good idea to replace it since when it does fail you will probably find yourself on the side of the road somewhere. Before making any decisions. talk to your trusted mechanic to find out exactly what parts he replaced and what work he did. As has been mentioned, if he replaced the entire housing assembly, also did a flush and fill and replaced some bad hoses, did a pressurized dye test and properly burped it maybe it's not that excessive of a price especially if it helps you avoid having this happen:

http://www.thunderbirdnest.com/forum...-top-hose-blew

[chromer]

I agree with Brad. Price may seem high but if ALL these parts are replaced at once, chances of problems happening are greatly reduced. Replacing one or two parts at a time will cost more in the long run. Do it right the first time and avoid the headaches. Just sayin'.