The failure occurred wen the plastic connection on the thermostat housing broke.
That's where they usually fail.
"Made of plastic" and "Made by Fiat" are two phrases you definitely don't want to see in the same sentence.
alexGS may well remember doing his..!!
Indeed!
I used a Facet part too; nothing wrong with aftermarket and is actually better than OE as has been stated in this thread.
Symptom on mine was a juddery clutch, which I noticed before the slight coolant leak.
-Alex
I had no problems at all with refilling the system - if there is a small pipe to the expansion tank, ensure it is not blocked by blowing through it? I also squeeze the radiator hoses a few times while filling.
Revs probably have to be increased above idle to clear an airlock. Leaving the cap loose is a good idea. I suggest driving the car and then allowing it to cool completely before topping up. Usually takes about half a litre to restore the level which isn't cause for concern as long as it settles in a few days.
My girlfriend has a Ford Ka and has the exact same housing unit, we didn't get the broken screw part out, we found out that this plastic part couldn't be bought on its own, but we got a replacement part without the plastic parts, a housing unit made of just metal, it cost £100 for part and fitted, quite dearMy wife called to say to say the water temp alarm had gone off in her 2010 Fiat 500 1.2 Lounge.
I went to the car and found that a PLASTIC fitting in the engine block to which a coolant hose is attached had sheared off, dumping all the coolant water on the road.
It had sheared and left the threaded part in the block.
Maybe it was over tightened when the car was built, but why on earth would they use plastic for a fitting to the (very hot) engine block?
Has this happened to anyone else? I searched this forum and found no other instances, but I feel it is only a matter of time with any car using this part!
If you have had this problem, how did you get the threaded part back out?