coolant temp sensor leaking. can i replace the 0-ring? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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coolant temp sensor leaking. can i replace the 0-ring?

merrick

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City, State
houston
Year, Model & Trim Level
2005
just got finished spending the day replacing the water pump, tensioner idler pulley, thermostat and coolant outlet housing on my sisters 05 explorer 4.0. well actually i replaced the water pump. assembled. started up and found the outlet housing leaking. was probably the original leak but 100k on a water pump is enough to replace anyway. replaced that aswell and now the ect sensor doesnt seal in the new housing. can i throw a snug fitting o ring on the original sensor or will i need to get a new ect sensor? also, are there any other weak spots i should check for while im spending time on it? ive replaced the upper and lower hoses and thats it. i appreciate any input. thanks
 



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If it screws in just try some plumbing tape or thread sealer.
 






I replaced o-ring and solved leaking problem
 






I replaced o-ring and solved leaking problem
.

I have same problem, O ring is deformed and has a "flat" shape. So, which is replacement part number for Temperature Sensor O ring?. Thanks in advance.
 






.

I have same problem, O ring is deformed and has "flat" shape. So, which is replacement part number for Temperature Sensor O ring?. Thanks in advance.

Solved, a good quality hi-temp bulk "o ring" (less than 0.5 us$) made job. Leaks stopped. BTW, thermostat housing (upper and lower) are Goofy design, C´mon Ford´s guys... Mattel designs for Barbie´s Corvette works better.
 






I wanted to add to this for others that come across this issue after replacing their lower thermostat housing and have the sensor leaking. Don't replace the sensor, you can get the o-ring at home depot (or NAPA or lowes, etc)...
It's a 9/16" ODx3/8" IDx 3/32" wall thickness, $2.27 for a 10 pack at home depot for me.
31AED83A-3DC3-4269-BBE6-08C04589B484_zpszuni7wy3.jpg


Below is what my temp sensors o ring looked like before I replaced it, so you can see how flat it got:
D6C87C2E-329F-407B-9EBB-F7CC94F6C970_zpsgd4cl3oh.jpg
 






I wanted to add to this for others that come across this issue after replacing their lower thermostat housing and have the sensor leaking. Don't replace the sensor, you can get the o-ring at home depot (or NAPA or lowes, etc)...
It's a 9/16" ODx3/8" IDx 3/32" wall thickness, $2.27 for a 10 pack at home depot for me.
31AED83A-3DC3-4269-BBE6-08C04589B484_zpszuni7wy3.jpg


Below is what my temp sensors o ring looked like before I replaced it, so you can see how flat it got:
D6C87C2E-329F-407B-9EBB-F7CC94F6C970_zpsgd4cl3oh.jpg

I don't post in here much, and I hope I don't get in trouble for digging up an old thread. mdisalvo's post really helped me out a lot! I looked up this thread last night, because I had replaced my water intake valve, or whatever it's called. Problem was, it was leaking at the sensor housing. That picture of your sensor is exactly what mine looked like.

I took your advice, went to Lowe's this morning. Popped on the new o-ring and problem solved. I paid $3 out the door for this versus a new sensor of $17 plus dollars. Thanks again for your informative post.

I am pretty much a youtube mechanic. I try to fix my own stuff when I can, and this job, as simple as it might be for others, really stressed me out. My valve failed on me right as I pulled into my new job on the first day! Not a good way to make a first impression. Anyway, getting this fixed tonight was a great thing. Thanks again everyone and especially to mdisalvo!
 






Hey I'm really happy to hear it helped you out, that's what I was hoping for when I posted it. This forum has helped me out quite a bit so it's nice to know one of my little tips helped someone else.

I was meaning to say back when I posted that that if anyone on here needs that o ring or is planning on doing this job soon shoot me a PM with your address and I will send you one in the mail since I've got some extras now.
 






Be careful prying the clip out. Mine took off for never-never land.

Retainer (clip) part #*W706800*S303 $8.58
"O" Ring part # 1W1Z*19E889*BB $3.03
 






The o-ring size is too big from Home Depot, it's worth it to go to autozone and buying a new o-ring from them that fits the sensor
 






If you get the ones pictured above it's definitely the right size...worked for me and several others on here.
 






I stumbled across this thread doing a search on the sensor o-ring. I was curious did you put the 9/16" x 3/8" x 3/32" o-ring where the existing o-ring was or above it? I am getting ready to do this job. I bought a brand new upper/lower housing with the sensors included, but they don't fit snug in the housing. I am worried they may leak and Ill be right back where I started with another coolant leak to fix.
 






Put it right where the old one was. I believe it just has a loose fit like that...make sure you get the clip on there that should help too.
 






Well 1 of the sensors wiggles in the housing even with the clip in place while the other fits nice and snug, so I was trying to find the proper o-ring size that would make it fit better in place.
 






I'm pretty sure mine only had one sensor...if yours is an 01 maybe it has 2 different sized sensors? Mine is an 04 V6...
 






Yeah mine has 2 sensors, but both sensor holes are the same size, just 1 of the sensors doesn't fit well. I tried the snug fitting sensor in both sensor holes and it fit the same, so it's just the one sensor that fits loose, that's why I wanted to try a bigger o-ring.
 






Well I picked up the o-rings you listed above and tried it on the loose fit sensor, and it still fits the same as before. How snug was the sensor for you? I tried the other sensor which fits real snug in the housing in both sensor holes and it fits the same both sides, just can't figure out why this one other new sensor doesn't after trying 2 other size o-rings, ones from napa listed on this site, and these listed above. I guess Ill just have to buy a new sensor to replace a new sensor and hope that it fits.
 






Me too!! Darn it. O-Ring?? When I took mine out I thought o-ring but the thing feels like ceramic it's so hard.

They design this $#!T to break down so you have to take it to the dealer for service. @$$H0l3S!!!
 






This sounds sort of redneck but take the old sensor without disturbing its crushed factory oring. Wrap it about 4 or 5 times with a good Teflon tape around the oring. Put it back in and enjoy many leak free miles. I have done this to two vehicles in my fleet expecting it to fail but years later they are still leak free. On one of them I took a dremel to the housing to make the larger oring fit and it is also leak free. Just be careful and don't remove too much or leave a rough surface or it will leak.
 



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This sounds sort of redneck but take the old sensor without disturbing its crushed factory oring. Wrap it about 4 or 5 times with a good Teflon tape around the oring. Put it back in and enjoy many leak free miles. I have done this to two vehicles in my fleet expecting it to fail but years later they are still leak free. On one of them I took a dremel to the housing to make the larger oring fit and it is also leak free. Just be careful and don't remove too much or leave a rough surface or it will leak.

I should have done this. I printed out the post from mdisalvo and took it to Napa for an o-ring. The old one broke off fairly easy and the new one went on with a good tight fit. But it's too fat, won't go down deep enough to clip. There's obviously something different between what I've got and what y'all got. GAH now I'm stranded. GAH
 






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