Recently my T-stat housing seems to have been leaking with the colder temps we're having, until recently I was driving home and gave it some stick; the temps started to rise and i let off immediately and coasted til the temperature returned back to normal.. and it has been taking coolant out of the reservoir, and i had been refilling it

Now when I get under my car there's a slow steady drip around the t-stat seal and radiator hose... i tightened the bolts for the t-stat housing but there seems to be no change, i've stopped driving the car since and it continues..

Any idea what it could be?

Failed Tstat?
Bad Water pump?
Warped tstat housing?

I haven't really looked at the thermostat in our cars, just older vehicles I've owned and friends' cars. It uses a gasket to seal the housing to the engine. It sounds like you just need a new seal, a few dollars at your local autoparts store.

I'm not sure about the rising temp thing. If you're coolant is low, that would cause hotter temps. However, your thermostat itself may be worn. You probably should just stap out the thermostat to makes sure. It comes with a gasket anyways. You shouldn't need to really crank on the bolts, just tighten them till snug. Again, pricing is pretty cheap, so there's no point not to just replace the termostat.

After you're done, make sure you top off your anti-freeze.

There is an O ring around the thermostate... maybe that went bad somehow. Its really simple to fix...

If i were you I would go to the dealership and buy a new t-stat (it comes with the o ring) and just install a new one... maybe some sealant around the housing.

I think it may be overtightened. Unless they changed something the t-stat housing on the 2.5 is plastic. If you overtighten those bolts I hink you'll distort it.

I agree that you might as well go ahead and get a new oem t-stat and gasket and install that. Be careful though, when you pull the old one out coolant will gush out at you. Then a nice snug fit on the bolts without distorting it should do the trick.Check it for cracks just to be sure. And if it is distorted go ahead and get a new one.

Good luck