2L2Z8592BA Aluminum Thermostat Housing Compatible with 2002-2010 Explorer

One thing I ran into on the explorer 4.0 is that there's a couple different manifolds. Mine is a 2001 XLT 4.0 built on 9/2001. Everything seemed to line up perfectly. I had to fight the three bolts to get my old one off. One big problem. I did have that I kind of set myself up for. I put the OEM thermostat in. Trust me, spend the extra 15 bucks and get a good quality thermostat. I also tried to put an OEM o-ring on the thermostat. THIS UNIT USES A BIGGER O-RING than the OEM thermostat one. The OEM one will just leak on you. Asked me how I know. So I put the o-ring it came with back in and it works. Also keep in mind to smaller hoses that connect to this but most likely have to be replaced as well. In my case I also had to split the top half of the manifold so you'll need gaskets for the manifold. You can see in the pictures I have the long tube runner manifold style. I've seen the other 4.0 with the skinnier manifold. Sometimes you can slip this thing right out. Unfortunately mine I could not. And I had to take off my top half of the manifold. I was left in a pinch because I did not have the lower hose and my old one was about to blow out. I didn't realize how bad it was till after I got it off. Do not buy the POS dorman replacement hose only lasts about 6 months from all the reviews. The gates one wasn't really for this. It was a 16th smaller id but the outer diameter was larger. It fits extremely close, maybe just a credit cards distance away from that bolt. It's been working for the last 2 weeks in my car. When I find that number I kept it somewhere. The guy at O'Reilly's just looked up for similar items on his computer and when I saw a gates one that was about the right shape asked for that . I just can't find it at the moment. I'll put it up on this review when I do. That way if you're in a pinch like me you're able to get to around. Lastly, I was only able to find one YouTube video on how to take my style manifold apart. It's from like 13 years ago and it wasn't the best quality but it got me through. The only last issue I had was I had to split the lower manifold because those gaskets were leaking on my car. When I split it I realized somehow the insulation on the knock sensor went bad so I had to replace that too. I also found the PCV valve hose to be rotten so keep an eye out for that on yours. Hope this helps. Best of luck to you! It's May 31 2025. I use this car as my daily driver and it's still holding up good.

Very well built part. Came with new sensors as well as a new thermostat Comes with bottom rubber o ring too. I put black rv silicone on the bottom around o ring and around top cap for thermostat but hey, that’s just me. No leaks finally. My old part was corroded bad. Puddles of coolant may form directly behind thermostat housing. Soak them up with a small towel before installing new metal housing.

Fit as it should!

This is a well made thermostat housing and part of the attraction is that it comes with both temperature sensors and the thermostat. Replacing the unit is not particularly simple but is straightforward. After installing the unit my temperature gauge jumped to the highest temperature at soon as the key was turned to the run position. It stayed there until the thermostat opened and my heater was very warm. What you DON'T expect is that one of the temperature sending units was BAD. So I had to replace the inoperable unit. That required more down time and frustration. I suggest to the manufacturer of these parts to check them before they are shipped out, it shouldn't have to be the responsibility of the purchaser. It proves once again that quality of parts is secondary to sales. Be warned, I figure I may not have been the only customer that got a defective part. I gave it a 3 star rating NOT the 4 that it defaulted to.

Did the trick. 2003 Ranger. Way better than stock plastic parts. For those wondering it does have a thermostat installed. I couldn't find that info anywhere so I have a shiny spare thermostat in the box. Also, you don't have to take off the intake to replace. Pull the alternator, alternator bracket and belt tensioner and there's room to get the housing out.

fits well

If you install it correctly, slowly and carefully, the way it's supposed to be installed, you won't have any leaks. I put this in a 98' Explorer with the 4.0l and it's working amazingly well. No leaks and the sensors are doing their jobs too. 5* across the board. Thank you for making a cheap upgrade that comes with everything. Napa and other parts stores wanted $170 just for the thermostat housing assembly no sensors and no thermostat. I did however, replace the thermostat with one from a parts store but used the gasket that this kit came with.

This product is great it will hold up longer than the original plastic ones love it 😊

muy bueno