well this is not a big deal at all but a buddy of mine donated a water temp gauge to me and i would like to install this bad boy on my 1997 4 cylander 2.3 litre ranger. i have the haynes manual but it really doesnt say or show much on how to find this thing. there are several sensors and i just wanted to make sure i found the right one. let me know if you have any ideas on where to grab this baby and if its even somewhat easy to get at. (haynes said its on the drivers side rear of the engine block but i was unable to locate it right away) any help would be appreciated in finding the sensor and also if anyone knows an easy access point in the firewall to run the sensor through that would be great. thanks

-nick

 

There should be 2 temp sensors close to the thermostat housing.
One will have a 2 wire connection, this is the coolant temp
sensor for the PCM, the other one has a single wire connection,
this is the one for the temp gauge.....I hope this helps!!!

Welcome to FTE!!!!!

 

hey i just checked under the hood and there is a sensor right within an inch of my main radiator hose and another one simliar with 2 wires ....they both have two wires and i cand find one with just one

 

yeah sorry i tried to reply to this but accidently posted a new thread. but anyways i popped the hood again only to find a two wire sensor right next to the main radiator hose (upper) and another two wire sensor on a smaller coolant hose near the line out to the heater core. any ideas?

 

Check on the block, driver's side rear, above and just behind the oil filter. It's below the oil pressure sender and it has just a single wire. That's where mine is on my 91 2.3 at least. You engine uses part number "AC Delco F1855" and you can find a picture of it by searching for that part number at www.partsamerica.com.

Happy Hunting!

 

When looking at the motor from the front, the sensor furthest from you is the correct one

 

I, too have a 97 Ranger with the 2.3, but I cannot seem to find the sender where it is "supposed" to be (on the block, under the oil pressure sensor, according to Sir Haynes)!

First of all, that is probably the worst place to put such a thing, as it is practically impossible to access there. But then, that's what you get when pencil pushers and bean counters, who have the mechanical ability of the Three Stooges, design these things .

Anyway, I looked and looked--found the pressure sensor, but no temp sensor. There seems to be a screw-in plug behind the oil filter--perhaps that's where the temp sensor is supposed to be. Since I just bought this, I don't know whether it worked at all since new (perhaps they forgot to put it in, and the previous owner didn't bother with it?).

There are two sensors at the front of the engine, both with two wires leading to them. Could one of them be for the temp gauge? Does anyone else have a similar model with no temp sensor on the engine block?

Thanks for your help in this regard.

 

I recently replaced the water outlet on my '93 ranger with one from a '95 ranger (closest the junk yard could do). On the '95, the Temp sensor is t'ed into the heater hose between the water outlet and the heater, about 6 inches from the outlet. On the '95 it's on the outlet. Just for amusement, Ford changed the outlet size from 1-1/4 inch to 1-1/2 between the two years. One more trip to autozone for another upper hose!

Mike
'93, 2.3, 5-spd, 2WD

 

I found the temp sender for my '97 2.3 Ranger. Instead of being on the block, driver's side rear (as Sir Haynes says it is located), it is on the heater hose outlet. There are two located on this hose: the one closer to the water pump outlet is not for the temp gauge, rather, it is the one that is two inches further out.

There are two wires to this sender. Normally, there would only be one, as the block or water pump housing provides the ground for the sender. However, since the sender is mounted on a hose, one wire is for the ground, and the other goes to the gauge.

I found this out by "shorting" the two terminals after removing the plug. The one closer to the outlet did not show any change on the gauge, but the shorting second one--about 2" from the first--pegged the gauge. Since my gauge was not reading anything, evidently this sender needs replacing.

Good luck on your own vehicle!