Not a mechanic but trying to make some otherwise expensive repairs. Wiring wrapped over housing and bottom inlet looks difficult to remove and replace. Really could use some pointers.( Coolant spraying out between upper and lower housing which needs to be replaced).
Are you referring to the wiring harness that runs behind the spark plug coil pack and travels above the t-stat housing then going behind the alternator area? If so, just carefully unplug the plastic clip that holds the wiring harness to the bracket behind the coil pack and it will give you more wiggle room to remove and install the new t-stat housing. When removing the old t-stat housing, lift it straight up and out without breaking off the 3 small plastic tabs on the bottom of the housing. If one or more breaks off, make sure they didn't fall into the hole in the manifold. Once the housing if out, clean off the sealing edge around the hole in the manifold with a scotch brite pad, but do not gouge or scratch the sealing edge. You can also use some fine sandpaper to clean off the manifold. When installing the new housing, same thing, don't break off those tabs. The t-stat cover and housing bolt torque is 89 inch lbs. Wet the "o-ring and band seal" with new coolant prior to installation. Wet the temp sensor o-ring seal with coolant as well prior to installation. The temp sensor takes some effort to install into the new housing and it may seem like it doesn't fit, but it does. Don't push on the wire harness plug when installing, push on the lower metal part of the sensor. There is a slot in the bottom of the housing that houses the band like seal and the o-ring seal is for the t-stat. I recommend installing the new base housing by itself, leaving off the t-stat cover. This will give you more room to set it into place and after that, you can install the t-stat and it's cover dome. In your new Dorman t-stat housing, install the temp sensor in the same hole as in your factory one and place the plastic plug that came with your Dorman product in the other hole. You will most likely have to use the old retaining clip from your old t-stat housings temp sensor. You will need two retaining clips, one for the temp sensor and one for the plastic plug for the extra hole in the Dorman housing. Make sure you use the retaining clips. You only need to drain out approx. 1 gallon of coolant from the radiator petcock to lower the level of coolant in the system to do this job, unless you want to change the coolant completely. The whole system holds a little over 4 gallons of coolant, depending on if you have rear heat or not. A little more if you have rear heat. Your t-stat temp range is 194-210 degrees F.
I think I gave you plenty to work with here but you can also pull up old posts on this repair by using the search box at the top of the forum. Just type a question into the box and include your year, model and engine size Explorer into your question and it will pull up past posts related to your inquiry.
If you have any other questions about this repair, just ask, good luck!
