4.0 Thermostat housing upgrade help?

[canardman]

Hope this is in the right place...
I have an '01 Sport Track that has developed a coolant leak. After replacing the water pump (coolant running down the front of engine, water pump was just my first thought) Well... didn't fix the problem. Can't really see the intake manifold, so started pulling it down today to find the leak. Tracked it down to the thermostat housing and the sensors mounted in it.

I did a search but did not really find an answer. So my question is this: The '01 had a brass insert holding the sensors, that can come loose and/or crack. The newer ('03 and up) models have a clip that hold the ECT and coolant temp sensors. Are the sensors themselves interchangeable. If I replace the housing with a newer model and buy the newer model sensors, can they just be plugged into the harness with no modification?

Thanks for any help, -C-Man-

 

[02sport trac]

Im only partially sure the 01 has a 3 bolt thermostat housing and the 03 has only 2 bolts, did you try to replace the coolant temp sensor already?

 

[02sport trac]

The brass your seeing is part of the sensor I believe, My cherokee was doing the same thing last winter, I was a little worried about it getting cross threaded but it came out and went in well.

 

[canardman]

Im only partially sure the 01 has a 3 bolt thermostat housing and the 03 has only 2 bolts, did you try to replace the coolant temp sensor already?

Mine has a 3 bolt housing.

The brass your seeing is part of the sensor I believe, My cherokee was doing the same thing last winter, I was a little worried about it getting cross threaded but it came out and went in well.

I haven't tried to take it apart yet. It is my every-day driver, and I can't afford to be down. It looks like it is leaking around the threads. From the posts I've looked at on this subject, there is a brass insert that the sensor threads into. It's a common problem for the plastic and brass to separate.

 

[02sport trac]

The t-stat housing is for sale at rockauto.com for around $30, it sounds like maybe your problem is the lower intake? car-part.com has done me well for stealership only parts.You can score your whole intake for around 50. I had a "nice" leak on my old northstar on the back side of the engine, I used this alumaseal stuff it worked fast without worrying about plugging anything up. It looks like ground up fine aluminum shavings, it was fine for 3 years till I traded it in. Probably not a great idea but it will work.

 

[canardman]

I need the lower housing. It is separate from the manifold. I haven't been able to find it in any on-line store yet.
It will look like this (this is a later model)

 

[02sport trac]

USA-TX(Austin) Request_Quote 1-512-442-4744 This place has it for $35. Its called Austin express auto parts. I'm not sure if Waco is near Austin but the shipping looked reasonable. As far as swapping to a newer housing it looks like it will bolt in but the coolant temp sensor might send different values to your 01 computer, might be the same? looks like the connections are similar if not you could get the connector of the donor car and splice it in. -Ron