Well I can concur that changing the thermostat on an 04 facelift 2.4 diesel is a pain. Took me the best part of 3 hours. I didn't have to move the EGR though. Elearn didn't mention that either. Maybe it's different on the earlier 2.4's?
However I didn't have to pay the £230 that the stealer quoted me. I also bought from Alternative Autos. Excellent price and service. Mine cost me £57 including delivery. A lot better than the £84+VAT quoted from Alfa
On my 2.4 the stat is below the oil filler cap position and slightly towards the front of the car. You won't really be able to see it unless you remove the battery (in itself a pain due to the restraining strap and position of the nut).
I did move a cable harness bracket out of the way to make it a bit easier to undo some of the clips. I also broke a 13mm socket whilst trying to remove the first bolt off the stat
Fortunately I had a spare.
I wouldn't recommend doing this job if you haven't done some work on cars before. I couldn't drain the coolant before doing the job so took my time disconnecting pipes and catching as much of the coolant as I could. A lot still disappeared on the floor though
Result is excellent though. I now get to just under 90 on the temp gauge. Woohoo. My Av fuel consumption on INFOCENTRE already reads 45.5mpg instead of 41.6mpg (which probably equates to a real 42). If your gauge reads 70 definitely change your stat.
