W124 Thermostat Housing - Consider changing it out!

[TSH24]

So I was happily cruising down the road Tuesday when the low coolant light came on. A few second later, I'm smelling antifreeze and starting to see steam under the hood. Luckily I was passing a gas station so I pulled in to check it out.

As it turns out, the neck on the thermostat housing (connects the upper radiator hose) had completely snapped off. Luckily there was enough of a lip (abt 1/4"-3/8") left that I could push the hose up onto and tighten the clamp down enough to get back home.

The OE thermostat housing is made of a composite, plastic-like material. Not very durable. The replacement from Advance Auto is aluminum, only about $12.00 and very easy to change out.

Anyway, I thought I'd post my experience in case anyone out there still has the OE housing. It's probably a good idea to go ahead and change it out before it blows... Glad mine went at a good time and place.