Hey All,

I was having an issue with my coolant temperature sensor on my '88 Cherokee. It appears as if the sensor has been rounded or has corroded to a point where I cannot get a good hold with a socket. It is such a tight area right next to the vavlve cover and right by the firewall that I can't wrench, vice grips, or water pump pliers to get a good grip and loosen it. Anybody have any ideas or a tool that might be able to get this thing loosened. I am stopping by Sears to see if there is a tool that can get it off. My other reasoning for getting this off is so I can properly purge the system. It gets air around the heads and I have found the only way to properly burp the system is to jack the back of the car and loosen the sensor to let the air escape, its a pain.

Thanks for your help!

Mine didn't get stuck, but I did break mine off. Ended up using a screw extractor to get it out.
Check here to see what I did - it might give you some ideas.

When you get it out, take some pics and let us know what you did!

That seems like a lot of trouble to go through to "burp" the system.

I didn't have to do that on my Renix.

The screw extractor will do the job perfect, you just have to make sure you bite onto it strait and go slow. The brass chews up easy so if it slips, reset the extractor.

Also firestorm, it is a fairly common practice to purge the air from a renix using that method, not to say there aren't other ways to do it.

Ok thanks for the help! It looks like I will be stopping by Sears on the way home from work! I will let you know how it turns out!

If anyone know of an easier burping method, please let me know. It is pretty easy when the sensor is not rounded but I found this the most effective way to get air out. The only time it is an issue is when I am on the highway for an extended period of time, but if I burp it properly I never go over 220.

Let me know!

X2, I've done it before.

Hi guys,

Thanks for the help letinsh! That extractor set worked perferctly, the only thing that I did differently was use the number 5 extractor and the 3/8 extension.

I have another issue... I replaced tstat, water pump, expansion tank cap and I started up the jeep after I got the sensor on the car. When I took the sensor off, I lost about a quart coolant out of the outlet but I filled it back in the expansion tank. The tstat kicks on right when the gauge gets around to 190 like it should. I bought it at Napa, standard 195 tstat. Well I was driving out and the tstat never kicked on, I watched the gauge move past 190 and got to 240 before I cut the car off and felt the upper radiator hose, it was cool to the touch no coolant from the engine went through there and the tstat never opened. I am pretty sure the tstat was not installed upside down, I had been driving about a week with the new one on and everytime it has opened at 190. The other thing that was kind of odd was that the expansion tank had no pressure in it. Usually when the car is that hot, some hot air will come out and I will usually get some hot coolant coming out. Nothing happened. I have no clue what to do next! Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you so much for all of your help!

Either a blockage somewhere or the water pump quit pumping.

Or a faulty thermostat. I no longer use anything but factory stats part number 83501426. Cool in the summer and warm in the winter.