I've made a design discovery while doing some maintenance on my dad's '04 XC70. Unlike my '01 P2, I noticed the thermostat housing is no longer vertical... it's now diagonal. I realized this when a simple coolant sensor swap turned into a 60+ minute "ordeal".
I'll resist getting into the details of my experience, and simply ask if the thermostat for my 2001 is compatible with the 2004. This is difficult for me to answer myself, because the newer P2 thermostat appears to only be sold with the full housing... I'll also resist explaining my personal feelings about this choice.
Also, if anyone knows the PN for the gasket that sandwiches in the housing itself (where each half of the housing mates), that would be great! FCP does not seemingly supply this, as they simply point you toward the full housing. It also seems unavailable for the '01. I'm tempted to use liquid gasket maker when I go back in, though I'd prefer not.
Thanks!
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BTW, if you're replacing your own coolant sensor, my cheat code was to "accidentally" snap the upper plastic sensor. This was the only way I was able to get a socket onto that puppy, otherwise it was a tiny space wrench fiasco. IMO, that cramped spacing is the only logical excuse to sell only the full housing for the younger P2.
I'll also note the difficulty of putting the thermostat back into the diagonal housing, especially with the bleed valve oriented properly. But if I did it, so can you!
