I looked at the engine strut in my car, and I don't think it would be much help removing it.
Removing the entire engine mount on that side might help, but I wouldnt want to do that without some kind of jack or crane supporting that side of the engine. I don't have anything like that unless I can do something with a floor jack.

It looks like I can do the job just by moving the power steering and wiper fluid reservoirs, but the lower torx bolts are going to be rather difficult. It is going to be one of those "feely" jobs.
I think if get my left hand (coming from the left side) on the T-30 bit on the front of a flex extension, and get a 1/4 inch ratchet on the other end going through the intake manifold, it might work.
I will certainly try to remove the lower torx bolts first from the thermostat housing because if I can't remove them, I certainly can't get them back on.

 

I haven't tried it and don't know if it will work, but so far you're only thinking about trying to reach it from the top. How about from the bottom?

 

Certainly a possibility. IIRC, the last time I was under the front looking up, I could barely see anything.
But I will have it on ramps to empty the coolant, so if I do have any problems getting at the lower bolts (which are really only accessible by feel from the above), I can always try reaching up from below.

 

Well, I did the thermostat today.
Took quite a while and I wouldnt recommend doing it without removing the intake manifold. A few notes if you plan to try this without removing the intake

• Access is really bad and I could only get one arm into the area. Had to have a variety of solid extensions and swivel/flex extensions and sockets (all 1/4 inch drive).
• No way to use a torque wrench. Even though I could get the wrench on one or two of the bolts, the handle was too long and I could not move it enough to even "click" it to turn the bolt. I had to use my smallest wrench 1/4 inch wrench to make the bolts "Gute n' tite".
• The dipstick really gets in the way.
• Frequently the only way you can see the bolt, or where you are trying to install the bolt, is where you have to put your one hand you can use to hold the bolt, a socket and small extension -- so you have to poke around for a while until you get the T-30 socket into the bolt head or the bolt into the hole.
• You need a good light setup with one of those long flexible extensions and a tiny bulb on the end. I got mine at harbor fright and it is pretty good -- includes a handle with rechargeable battery and three different heads and one of them is a long thin flexible type.

A real pain in the ***, but it really needed it as you can see in the photo of the new and old thermostats.

 

Congrats on completing this tough job!! A few questions, please:

- What were the original symptoms? Was it leaking, or was the engine running hot, or did you change it as a preventive measure based on age/mileage?

- Did you drain the coolant first? Pulled off the bottom hose from the radiator, or used the petcock drain valve?

- Did you replace it with an aftermarket thermostat? Which brand?

 

This is why I asked my mechanic to do this when he changed the radiator for a new one.

 

Get the thermostat from LR or Volvo.........they are reasonably priced.

 

Mine looked like that. Fortunately never overheated. When it failed the symptom was slow to warm up to normal temp, and would stay there in city stop-n-go driving. But the temp would drop below normal range when driving on open roads much above 25 mph. I was on a road trip, so had to tape bags over the grill to keep it in the normal range (bad for the motor to drive it for an extended period below NOT). Had to stop and remove bags as I dropped down from the mountains into the warmer desert.

But with loose parts in there, overheating is a possibility and the thermostat would be suspect #1 in that case if the coolant level is good (and the belt is still turning obviously, but you'd know if it wasn't).

My indie shop replaced it, not sure what brand he used but he doesn't use junk because it boomerangs back to him.

 

I get my LR parts from here: https://www.landrovermerriamparts.com/
Frequently about half the cost of my local dealer.
Original symptom was leaking. I was never completely sure what was leaking, but the location of coolant remaining on the bottom areas of the engine seemed to indicate it was coming from somewhere around the thermostat.
I did not drain the coolant first. I actually tried to remove the lower radiator hose and drain the coolant after the repair, but these hoses are really tight and I did not have the strength lying under the front of the car to pull the hose off. I think I need a tool like an oil filter removal tool to get these new types of radiator hose fittings off. It was tough to pull the upper radiator hose off the thermostat as well.
One additional tool I could have used: a wire-spring-type bolt holder to replace the bolts when I inserted the bolts into the new thermostat onto the engine. The plunger type that have three wires coming out and hold a bolt head until you push the end and the wires release the bolt. I have one that came with a computer tool kit, it is a bit small but I couldnt find it anyway -- but it certainly would have made installation of the new thermostat easier.