2005 ST XLT - Thermostat Housing Replacement

Hi,
My 2005 ST is leaking coolant at-you guessed it- the thermostat housing. I've done some smaller projects on my truck before, and upon doing research about replacing this part, I've determined that I think I can replace this on my own. Does anyone have any advice on this project that might not be included in the youtube videos I've watched? I just don't want to mess it up. I've seen the Simmonz aluminum housing replacement as a solid option, and I think I am going to use that so I hopefully don't need to replace this again. Thanks!

IMO, one of the earliest and STILL the best t-stat housing R&R tutorials.
http://howtoreplacefordthermostathousing.com/Good choice with the $135 one piece Simmons Autosportz replacement. Buy once, cry once.
Order the SINGLE SENSOR housing since the 2004-05 gauge sender is not wired and only serves as a plug.

Well, I never would've thought to look up that URL, LOL. This is a great resource, thank you!

Yep, for the ThermoStatHousing,
any Aluminum version is better than the JunkPlastic OEM\AfterMarket versions.
Believe your 2005 IntakeManifold allows slightly easier access to the ThermoStat
than earlier Manifold designs, so with basic tools & a little patience you should be good;
sometimes one of the 3 bolts at the engine flange can be stubborn coming out.
As swshawaii noted above, the single TempSensor version should fit your 2005.
Click here for more info & links on this item.

Consider also changing the OilPressurized TimingTensioners while the TStatHousing is out of the way;
these should be renewed every 100kMiles\12yrs.
Click here for more info on these Tensioners.

Awesome, thank you! Glad I joined this group, lots of helpful information for a guy like me just starting out doing this stuff. And yes, I inspected the thermostat housing and found that it only had one sensor on it yesterday, good thing I checked because I almost ordered the two sensor model.

I replaced mine along with the thermostat. The thermostat that came with the housing, as an assembly, was a higher temp thermostat. Watch out for that if you replace the thermostat too.

Be cautious about the alignment of the OEM pinch clamps - - the ends are like knife blades. I had one slice into the small elbow hose and cause a leak. Best to replace with screw-type ring clamps.

That short water pump bypass "hose from hell" can be a PITA to install. I folded it with a zip tie and lightly lubricated both ends of the hose to make it easier to slip on both nipples. I reused the OE constant tension hose clamps because I prefer the design to worm gear type clamps. Trick is using a bent nose plier to install the Ford clamps.

Also, replace the bolts when you replace the thermostat housing. The aluminum housings should come with new ones. The old ones tend to be rusty.

^ Absolutely.

Butter the threads with a light coat of anti seize. You'll thank yourself if you ever have to remove those bolts again.

I'm about to replace the housing on my '04, so I'm glad to run across this! I replaced the one on my '02 ST over a year ago with an aluminum one from Parts Geek. I had read the link above at that time, but forgot about it. As I recall, you can push the clips for the sensors in instead of pulling them out and risk losing them.