Coolant Crossover Pipe Repair 5.0 V8

[RoverTide]

Posting this for those that want to see what a broken front crossover pipe looks like... (on mine anyway). After all the research and videos I found on this topic, I did not find any pictures of where/how they break. I have only heard where the pipe seams separated on the rear crossover. Mine broke right above the seals on both sides where it attaches to the block. You can see when I removed the pipe, those pieces stayed in the block with the seals. Glad I caught it before it overheated.

I am not the original owner of my LR4, but I have receipts for when this was replaced about 30k miles ago (not sure if it was an OE part or not nd you can see one of the seals is too big and pinched/torn). I don't need to tell any of you guys, but this is such a poor design on so many levels, and the fitment for the new OE part is still not great. When you tighten down that 3rd screw at the top of the crossover pipe, you can see/feel it fighting itself to seat properly. Anyway, I thought these pics may be of value to someone like me that may be considering tackling this project. I am not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination and I did not find this difficult at all.

 

[powershift]

How many miles are on the crossover pipe?

 

[f1racer328]

Every long road trip I take into the middle of nowhere I wonder if my (replaced and updated part #) crossover pipe is going to explode on me.

I honestly tempted to replace mine again, just for peace of mind.

 

[RoverTide]

How many miles are on the crossover pipe?

The one i just replaced only had 30k miles on it. Previous owner had it done at a shop... Not sure it was done correctly though, based on the fact that one of the seals was significantly larger than the other... strange. Goes to show, they can fail at any time though....

 

[RoverTide]

Every long road trip I take into the middle of nowhere I wonder if my (replaced and updated part #) crossover pipe is going to explode on me.

I honestly tempted to replace mine again, just for peace of mind.

I know how you feel.

 

[dlimanov]

weren’t there someone selling aftermarket aluminum part? surely it must fair better than this plastic crap..

 

[ryanjl]

The one i just replaced only had 30k miles on it. Previous owner had it done at a shop... Not sure it was done correctly though, based on the fact that one of the seals was significantly larger than the other... strange. Goes to show, they can fail at any time though....

You can buy knockoff crossover pipes on Amazon for $25.

https://www.amazon.com/JSD-LR018275-Thermostat-2010-2013-Rover/dp/B07Z4BB4GL/ref=pd_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=FBqdP&content-id=amzn1.sym.225b4624-972d-4629-9040-f1bf9923dd95%3Aamzn1.symc.40e6a10e-cbc4-4fa5-81e3-4435ff64d03b&pf_rd_p=225b4624-972d-4629-9040-f1bf9923dd95&pf_rd_r=PZR8YG4CZ06G3PJ3A8RV&pd_rd_wg=JmKEY&pd_rd_r=ea7ee762-a0d9-4059-818d-a71608570a0d&pd_rd_i=B07Z4BB4GL

I've never heard of a genuine lasting only 30k. It's generally accepted that changing it every 60k is being really picky on preventative maintenance. I mean, anything can happen, but the difference in seals makes me wonder if they didn't reuse an old one.

I suppose you could call the shop where it was done and ask. Is it in the receipt?

 

[RoverTide]

You can buy knockoff crossover pipes on Amazon for $25.

https://www.amazon.com/JSD-LR018275-Thermostat-2010-2013-Rover/dp/B07Z4BB4GL/ref=pd_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=FBqdP&content-id=amzn1.sym.225b4624-972d-4629-9040-f1bf9923dd95%3Aamzn1.symc.40e6a10e-cbc4-4fa5-81e3-4435ff64d03b&pf_rd_p=225b4624-972d-4629-9040-f1bf9923dd95&pf_rd_r=PZR8YG4CZ06G3PJ3A8RV&pd_rd_wg=JmKEY&pd_rd_r=ea7ee762-a0d9-4059-818d-a71608570a0d&pd_rd_i=B07Z4BB4GL

I've never heard of a genuine lasting only 30k. It's generally accepted that changing it every 60k is being really picky on preventative maintenance. I mean, anything can happen, but the difference in seals makes me wonder if they didn't reuse an old one.

I suppose you could call the shop where it was done and ask. Is it in the receipt?

Not specifically listed in the receipt and not worried about it at this point... I agree with your assessment though. I realize people need to find ways to shave costs in this challenging economy, but that's def not a part I would replace with anything but a brand new OEM part... but that's why we DIY, right?! Like I said, just glad I caught it before it overheated.

 

[ktm525]

Knockoff crossover and perhaps the shop didn't take the time to clean the ports thoroughly well where the new crossover seats to. Or they didn't do it at all and charged the guy...

 

[ryanjl]

Not specifically listed in the receipt and not worried about it at this point... I agree with your assessment though. I realize people need to find ways to shave costs in this challenging economy, but that's def not a part I would replace with anything but a brand new OEM part... but that's why we DIY, right?! Like I said, just glad I caught it before it overheated.

I only point it out because it matters in the context of people on this board trying to figure out how often they should do preventative maintenance on the item.

Yours is an extreme outlier data point, and I was just trying to determine why.