You can't get the hoses off the plastic ends. They are quick release couplings.
I've found the only way to get the couplings to part is to completely remove the spring clips. Then the pipes will come apart with some pulling and twisting.
You've done well to get the the point you have.
Well done.

Thanks Nodge. Unfortunately I've run out of time for today so I'll have to have another go next Sunday.

I had all my tools and everything out in front of me. Even had my Tablet resting on the top vent next to the wipers playing the 'how-to' youtube video so I could stop-and-start it as I went. My engine is slightly different from the one on the video (the video is American) so I've done my best to label and photograph everything as I've gone. If I can change this damn thermostat, the scary part is putting it all back together!

The very first hose snapped on me. The PCV? or PCB? At the back where is connects into the manifold plenum area. It was so brittle that when I touched it with the long nose pliers, it snapped leaving a small section inside the little red O-ring! Gulp!

I really hope I can remove the hoses from the thermostat. Last thing I want to do is have it towed to a garage after all this work!

The PCV pipes can be brittle but are easy to get.
The pipes will come off the thermostat but remove the springs first, keeping them in a safe place. You can refit the springs to the hoses, really for reassembly. You can use your silicone grease to help them slip back together properly

I returned home about half an hour before sunset so I put my nose back in the engine bay. I managed to remove the base of the old thermostat housing along with the straight pipe and elbow pipe. They came out easily after a little wiggling back and forth.

I did like you said Nodge and removed the two spring clips but these two hose ends are on rock solid. I tried spraying them with WD40 and wiggling them back and forth hoping that some of the solution would get in between but they're just not giving in! Is there something I'm not doing properly? As in am I missing a hidden clip or button on these? I've looked at it all around but nothing is jumping out at me. Is there some sort of way of getting extra leverage to try to force them out? I really don't want to damage the end of these hose connectors so am being as careful as I can but with all my might I just can't get them to budge! Im hoping I don't have to end up cutting them out! Any suggestions? Maybe a tap with a mallet or something? Thanks again.

block those inlets

Haha. Okay okay I'll put some rags over them!

Once the spring clips are off, there's nothing else holding the hoses to the thermostat except the Or ring seal. This can be stuck quite solidly. I find twisting the hoses in relation to the thermostat will free them off. The plastic fitting on the end of the hose is quite strong. It's stronger than the thermostat anyway. I have had to break the thermostat up before now, but that is a rarity. Oh and put something in the inlet ports to prevent anything getting in there that shouldn't
MHM beat me to it.

Okay I'll quickly try again tomorrow evening before it gets dark. Because the two hoses are so close together it's hard to get a good grip on them as if to do a 'Chinese Burn' but I'll keep going. Thanks again.

You can grip them with something around the steel band, but don't squeeze to hard. I use large pliers. This will stop the Chinese burn
Alternatively you can lever in the gap between the two pipes, using the slots where the springs go. Kinda twisting one against the other. Just be careful not to use to much muscle.

What I had to do was to unplug the hose from the other end, and rotate the hose on the thermostat connector. I also used a Radiator Hose Pick.

Hi Everyone,

Well.. The thermostat replacement job failed!

I managed to remove the hoses from the old thermostat housing with loads of twisting and pulling and some WD-40. Took a good 20 minutes each but was happy when they were finally off because that was the only thing that stopped me in my tracks last sunday.

I carefully cleaned all the connecting hoses ends and where it connects to the block. All was good. I applied silicone grease as directed and proceeded to install the new thermostat and piping. All went in well. I reversed my steps and rebuilt the top and made all the right connections. I was pretty pleased that everything went back together and every bolt, electrical connector and screw went back in exactly as it came out. The only things that were broken were the PCV hose and one other vacuum hose so I carried on anyway thinking I could at least get the engine started without these. Not that I would have run it for long but I wanted to see if the job actually worked before spending out more on hoses.

So.. all rebuilt.. I filled the expansion bottle to the line then opened the valve at the back to make sure there were no air locks. As soon as water started to escape I closed the valve and topped up the water. I went to start the engine... and it made an awful scraping-like sound! I went back to the engine bay and noticed I somehow managed to damage the fuel rail because it was leaking where the pipe meets the actual U shaped section. Also, water was running out on to the floor just like before so when I looked into the 'V' I could see water filling around the thermostat area so game over.

I don't know what's gone wrong as I followed all the instructions to the tee.. And the thermostat connections were good and all new O-rings were used. Bummer! Oh well. I tried! Even though it hasn't worked I'm glad I had a go because I learned more about how these things work. I really did think it would have worked because every step was by the book.

I'm going into hospital next sunday evening ready for surgery the following day and then I'll be out of it for three weeks (not even allowed to drive) so as soon as I'm on my feet again I'm not going to bother trying to fix what I have, I'm going to get the new engine fitted by professionals and everything done properly!

Thanks for your help everyone anyway!

It sounds like you nicked an O ring. It's easy done and makes all sorts of expletives come out when it happens.
At least you had a go and now you know more than you did.
Good luck with the op.
All the best.

Thank you so much Nodge. You've been fantastic and I really appreciate all your helpful comments. If you ever come to Cardiff let me know and I'll buy you a pint!

It probably was some sort of O ring failure. I wish I didn't have to rebuild it all to then put water in to find out if it sealed or not. Not sure if it would have been possible to do that when it was all open but if so, I wish I could have done that.

The only thing I do wonder is why the engine made that terrible noise when I tried to start it? I mean, it would't even fire up. It just made a screeching / scraping noise and then locked. It won't run at all. As I put it all back together as it came out surely it should have started and just reverted to the leakage issue? Very weird. Anyway I really enjoyed the experience. Looking forward to getting it back on the road already.

Thanks again.