I have an 07 LR3 SE V8. I recently drove it 6 hours to Pennsylvania from my hometown of Louisville and back. On the way back we pulled into a rest stop for a bathroom break about 3 hours into the trip back home. When we started the car we smelt coolant. I cut the engine off and noticed coolant running from under the car. I hadn't noticed any temperature climb or any loss of power. I had just had the vehicle serviced so, I assumed maybe they over filled the coolant or something. Any who..
We pressed on and about 20 minutes later we got a "Low coolant warning". I stopped by the local auto zone and picked up some dexcool and topped it off.
We headed back out and we received the coolant warning again but, at this point I was watching the temp gauge very closely. There hadn't been a rise at all plus, it hadn't required much coolant to top off at the last stop. I pressed on and as we entered Kentucky in the 5 hour of the trip I could hear the fans starting to work overtime. I had a pretty good idea that we were going to overheat and was looking for a place to pull over. I exited off the highway and noticed the temp gauge starting to climb up all the way and then a sudden drop back to normal as if the thermostat was sticking. Nonetheless, we made it to a parking lot and quite a bit of coolant had sprayed onto the engine. Unfortunately, we were in a rush to leave so, I forgot to pack tools for the trip.
The engine cooled and I topped off the coolant, at this point it was late and we were within 20 miles of home. I pulled out on to the highway and again and the temp gauge climbed again. I pulled over and shut it down. We got the vehicle towed home.
Now, after getting the car home I began to research the issue. Alot of them same syptoms my car had were the same as other folks when their thermostat went bad. So, not knowing the history of the thermostat I decided to replace it and flush the radiator in the process. While starting the job and I found that the t pipe bleeder valve on top of the intake was shattered. I ordered another along with the thermostat and replace both today.
I got everything back together and the coolant system still isn't functioning properly. I barely got a gallon of coolant in the system so, I imagine I have blockage somewhere. I also don't have heat and when I turn the heat on it really pisses the car off and the temp climbs quickly. I'm assuming that the heater core is clogged. I must add that the morning we left was the first time we had used the heat since buying the vehicle earlier this year. Maybe the 2 are related.
And to add insult to injury the thermostat housing cracked today while I was trying to feed the coolant system.

Could the blockage and pressure have blown the t pipe and eventually the thermostat housing? Suggestions?