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it screws in right under where the thermostat located. You'll see it, a electrical connector plugs into the end of it. Its a pain to do but if you need any help let me know, i can explain how I got it out.
heres what it looks like, http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/se...997&vi=1256037
hey thanks..i did find it awhile ago it looks like a pita to change, i unplugged it and the fans came on i plugged it back in and they ran for a little bit and shut off so im not sure what to think maybe it needs changed idk
yeah if you unplug it and the fans work then your sensor is bad. Thats exactly what mine did and exactly what I was told to do to see if that sensor was bad. So i would say thats your problem too.
As far as replacing the sensor. What worked for me in the end was just a 3/4" wrench. I tried the socket but didnt have enough room for that. So I took off the plastic engine cover, drain some coolant in a pan from your low side radiator hose( 1/2 to 1 gallon)take off driver side motor mount(dont know if you'll need to, I did because it gave some more room it up when I tried the socket so dont know if you actually need to), disconnect the temp sensor wire, pull out the 2 vacuum lines and take off the thermostat housing. With a 3/4" wrench the elbow part of the stat housing where the upper rad. hose connects gets in the way. Thats all i can think of that I took off to get at it. You will be able to get the wrench on and do 1/8-1/4" turns byt flipping the open end side back and forth. I also used the closed end side at times because its 12 sided and can help to get the slight turns the open side couldnt do. If you have an offset wrench it may work better, I dont and I wasnt going to buy any if I didnt need one.
Reinstalling is easy, put liquid teflon paste on the threads( its good for up to like 500 degrees or something), same thing with the 3/4 wrench but dont torque it down or over tighten. Just enough so it feels like it wont leak. That just how I read it to be installed while researching it online. I paid attention to the old one to see how far it was turned in and did about the same with the new one. Even if the old one is out you can still tell because you'll see where the dirt buildup stops from being exposed, i guess unless everything on your engine is super clean. Mines not. But thats basically it, just reinstall everything else back where it goes.
Refill coolant, bleed system and check coolant levels next handful time you drive.
good info!! how long did it take to change that?
I would say it took me 2.5 hours to drain coolant, change that sensor, change hoses, and refill coolant and bleed air. I also had to change my oil that day too so that time factors in. It was just one of those days though, spend too much time in the car running around to try to get a deep socket and find offset wrenches. I find when doing something new to my car I never have the right tool. But really to get that out now that I know how to do it with a regular wrench, probably could get it out and install the new one in like 15 minutes not including the coolant drain and unhooking the other stuff. Just that part alone, its tight to do and a bit time consuming with the small increment turn you can do but its not that bad.
So if you follow how I did it with a regular wrench or offset if you have them and take thermostat off, it shouldn't take too long. I wouldnt have had to run back an forth to some stores looking for a tool that would work if I just too off the thermostat in the first place and would have realized the wrench I had was good enough.
oh yes tools, it seems you always need something and usually when youre in the middle of a job you need something else