Location of coolant temperature sensor

Tiny
MELISSA.BLUTH13
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 CHEVROLET IMPALA
  • 3.8L
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 60,000 MILES
I have checked out your article, but am not able to find where the coolant temperature sensor is located in order to replace it. I have the new part, but cannot find where to install it.
Saturday, February 29th, 2020 AT 1:37 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
I attached the location of the sensor. Let me know if you need more info. Thanks
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Saturday, February 29th, 2020 AT 1:50 PM
Tiny
MELISSA.BLUTH13
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Thanks, but I still am not sure where it is. I have included pictures of my engine.
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Saturday, February 29th, 2020 AT 1:57 PM
Tiny
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It is not visible in the picture you provided but it is located in the red square on the photo. Basically under the throttle body you will see the thermostat housing. Once you locate the thermostat housing you will see a connector for a sensor. That will be the ECT.

Here is a video of a Monte Carlo but it should be exactly the same:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY-5ttDmoI8
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Saturday, February 29th, 2020 AT 3:31 PM
Tiny
MELISSA.BLUTH13
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Thanks. I will try again tomorrow morning and let you know because it is too dark out now.
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Saturday, February 29th, 2020 AT 3:58 PM
Tiny
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Sounds great. We will wait to hear back. It is not the easiest to get to but I am sure you can get it done. Thanks
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Saturday, February 29th, 2020 AT 4:00 PM
Tiny
MELISSA.BLUTH13
  • MEMBER
  • 13 POSTS
It was an experience, but I finally got the sensor installed. I bought the deep socket, ratchet, and extender, but could not get the sensor to thread in so removing the throttle body, bracket, and hoses was the only remaining option. Now, I hope the check engine light will clear itself after 90 miles or so when the system cycles itself. I tried disconnecting the negative battery terminal to reset the light, but that did not do it. Any suggestions?
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Sunday, March 1st, 2020 AT 9:18 PM
Tiny
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If the light is on we should check the code just to make sure the temp sensor addressed it or that the code did not change. If you can't pull the code just stop by a parts store that pulls codes and they can get it free of charge.

Let me know what the code is and we can go from there. Thanks
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Monday, March 2nd, 2020 AT 3:06 PM

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