I've got a really good car that is plagued by rusty old bits, specifically cooling bits. I've recently had to patch the crossover pipe between the two lower radiator hoses and now the tube from the front of the intake manifold going under the runners is starting to leak at the join to the heater hose that goes to the heater tap. The mechanic who fixed the leak then said that it was getting rusty and pinholed. 3 months later and its starting to leak again.

Trip to the local Ford dealer tells me it is obsolete and his last price was $532 (WTF).

Are there any aftermarket replacements or ways of fixing it - it looks liker the runners are going to have to come off to get it out.

I'm guessing you mean the metal piping? My mate has an ea so different motor but the pipe that went around the block for the heater cost him $87 to get a new one out of copper. He got a plumbing place to make it up. Might be worth looking into.

Best thing to do is look for a good 2nd hand parts !

Gab

Its not easily made. According to the spare parts diagram it also houses two sensors. I have found that Eagle Spares in Melbourne have them as they are common on US cars as well.

must of had tap water used in it. The bottom cross over pipe is stainless and it had holes in it!?!?
Yep 2nd hand is all you can get now. I was looking at making stainless heater pipes but trying to duplicate that O-ringed section that goes in the intake was going to price it too high.