Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJeff
I've never heard it called that. Other than a tendency for the plastic one to harden/crack/fail, what else should I know? For the record, I have a spare plastic one so I doubt I'd spring for the $100 aluminum one from Mazdatrix till I need it.
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You've got it right. The plastic T-stat necks can crack if torqued down a little too tight, and being plastic they will tend to get brittle with age, and how they would react to various chemical products it may be exposed to over time is an unknown.
I haven't heard anyone complaining about these things failing in a catastrophic way, and plastic T-stat necks are used in just about every car out there today and have been for many years. When they do fail typically it's a hairline crack at the base area that results in a trickle leak (not a full dump of coolant). If it's not neglected, this kind of failure won't end up blowing your engine.
The AL replacement part is nice, but I'd save the money for something more important, especially being that you have a spare stock part handy.