TaffMGF1

Morning all, had to re-join for some reason no matter what i tried, the forum would not let me log in as TaffMGF.

anyway, my '96 VVC has sprung a coolant leak, and can now empty the expansion tank overnight.

I jacked it up and had a good look, and the leak appears to be starting around the area in the pictures (apologies for the pics, it's not the easiest place to get pics!)

Picture one with the red arrow shows a lip on the engine block that "fills" with water. If i dry it off, I can see water pooling there immediately.

A bit of research shows that the black plastic item arrowed in picture two is the thermostat housing, and further research shows that this can actually be changed in situ without removing the manifold (news that cheered me up no end!)

Anything else that i should be aware of before i dive in? Is this likely to be a new 'stat & housing to solve this problem?

TIA, Taff