capese 21,
Thanks for reporting that your plastic thermostat housing has lasted for 60K miles.
The reports of failure of the same part after 10K and 18K miles indicate that you have been lucky.
However, hoping for good luck is not a good basis for having trust in the reliability of one's Rover.
Especially when nearest help is 200km away, and the Outback is 40C in the shade.
That there is and has been a problem with KV6 thermostat housings is indisputable.
That these failures follow a Poisson (binomial) distribution is probable.
That the mean Time to Failure is skewed to a lower value by higher operating temperatures is highly likely.
That metal will last longer than plastic at high temperature is self evident.
Therefore replacing the OEM part with Mr Kaiser's well-designed and well built part is the only rational response to the problem.
To call Kaiser's replacement part 'a home made metal one' is rather unfair.
Kaiser's part is well designed and well made.
I have one fitted. My car has not lost a drop of coolant in 6 months.
The small premium that buying his superior part incurs is well worth the renewed confidence it gives in the reliability of one's vehicle.
Installing Kaiser's part has allowed me to keep my Rover for years more.
For that reason alone, it is a bargain.
|