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Coolant Temp Sender- Which Part?

M

mcgarvey

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
523
Location
South Jersey
I have the problem of the inaccurate temp gauge (just like everyone else with a zetec). Mine is a little bit worse, though, because it always reads past the high mark, even when the car hasn't been run for 12 hours! Long story short, I checked the resistances, etc, and the sender is bad. Ordered one up from Bill J and he overnighted me a sending unit with the part number SW-5030 or F5RZ-10884-A. Doesn't fit.

I checked on rockauto and found one that looks like the right one, its a DY-961 from motorcraft. However, it looks like there are screw in and push in senders. I didn't want to risk leaks by taking my old one out just yet, so I don't know what I have. The other weird thing is some sites list the Dy961 as a coolant temp SENSOR (ie, ECT Sensor for the computer). I guess it's just a matter of it working for both?

The car is a 2000 zetec mystique with ATX. Has anyone come across this problem with the wrong part?

BTW, if anyone on here doesn't buy their parts from Bill J. already, I highly recommend switching! He's about the most helpful guy you'll ever talk to and somehow, even though I paid for ground shipping and live three time zones away, the part arrived 16 hours after I ordered it! As soon as I figure out which part to exchange this for I'll be sending it in-- I know I've never had any issue with him accepting returns either.
 
i think i have a spare one from a 97 (non-working though) sitting at the house. ill take a look when i get home tonight and snap a picture if i do.

edit: you want the one that looks like this from advance auto
ts83051-1.jpg


heres the link to it online.
http://www.partsamerica.com/Product...IE&MfrPartNumber=TS83051&PartType=290&PTSet=A
 
Nope, thats the one I have right here (SW-5030). Doesn't fit. The hex part is way, way too big and the connector is totally different.

Guess I'll try that DY-961. If that doesn't work I'm just buying a ricer gauge and installing it.
 
you need to replace the sender thats on the underside of the t-stat housing. it should look like that. even the OBD1 95s use that sender. :shrug:
 
What year/make/model did you search for to find that?

EDIT: I believe that is the same as the ford dy-961. I'll see if I can do a straight exchange through Bill J for it.
 
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When I tried that only comes up when looking for coolant temp sensor (one that goes on top of the thermostat housing), not when I search for the sending unit.


Oh well, it looks right, hopefully it is. Thanks for the help, I'll let you know when I get the part.

I also bought a housing-to-head gasket so I can take the whole thing off and change the sensor on the bench, rather than burning my hands on the manifold.
 
you can actually get a 1/2" ratchet and socket down there under the battery to get to it. although doing it on a cold engine is still helpful.

i just searched for "coolant temp"
 
Well this will have been the third time taking it apart in three days. I have the whole coolant draining, upper hose off, little crossover hose off, and thermostat cover removal down to about 2 minutes flat. I'm sure you CAN reach down there, but this makes is a hell of a lot easier. I would take the old sender out and bring it with me to various parts stores, but unfortunately that car needs to be on the road in the meantime. I guess ford switched parts sometime late in the contour production run- Now that I look into it more that part seems to be used as the ECT sensor in nearly every Ford vehicle. I guess they just used it as a gauge sender for late contours. Who knows what they were thinking.
 
unless someone switched yours around in the housing. but i dont think the wires for the sensor would reach that far. out of curiosity what does the sensor on the top of the housing look like?
 
Like the one on the bottom of the housing, but with a different connector.

And no, they haven't been switched- nor could they as the wires wouldn't come close to reaching.

http://info.rockauto.com/SMP/SMPDetail3.html?TS390.html

That's what rockauto lists for the car. Note that there are no threads, it just pushes in. WTF? What holds it in when the coolant is pressurized?
 
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UPDATE:

Received that DY-961 (specified as water temp sender by rockauto).

Wrong part again. It's identical to my ECT sensor.

At this point I'm getting really sick of wasting money on shipping charges and return postage-- I'm 0 for 2.

Why can't I get a sender for my car????!!!!!!

All of this is of course complicated by the fact that we don't have an extra car, and it has to be in running shape every day. I don't have the luxury of pulling the old part and shopping around with it in my pocket.
 
Damn man, that is very bizarre. the only other option that i have seen is the the one the just pushes in. :shrug:
 
Here is my plan. My old lady needs the car every day until Saturday. Until then we just hope and pray it's not REALLY overheating.

Today I'm going to every parts house I can find, and picking up senders that are specified for various Ford vehicles-- ie, ZX2, focus, windstar, etc. I'll make sure to save the receipts!

On Sunday morning I'll take it apart and start trying the different sensors, hopefully one will work!

But about those push-in ones, what holds them in while there's pressure in the system?
 
Your looking for the temp sender unit not the temp sensor. The first picture striker2 posted is of the sender unit - what controls the gauge. The second picture he posted is of the sensor - what controls your radiator fans.

I replaced mine for the same reason as you, it was dead. My sender and sensor both came from NAPA, about $18 each. I would skip rockauto at this point and get the part to get it fixed. if your car is like mine it had a blown low speed resistor, so high engine temps.
 
Let me reiterate. I understand the difference between a sender and a sensor. Yes, I need the sender, and yes, I know which one it is on the thermostat housing. No, it's not the first one striker posted. Maybe for YOUR car it is, but that one doesn't fit my car.

The sender you got from NAPA- did it push or thread in?
 
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