Leaking behind the temperature sensor housing

[jonbowen234]

So the car blew out the thermostat housing. As in a quarter sized hole in the front. I replaced that and flushed the system. Everything was looking ok so I took it for a drive. It started to slowly heat up so I rushed back to the house. I opened the hood and a crack developed right behind that sensor in whatever it bolts onto. Two streams of coolant a few feet long were shooting out of it.

I don't want to spend much more on this car. Because I don't have much and it's not worth any more at this point. I'm dreading a head gasket but I can't find any evidence of that. No coolant in the oil and no smoke from the exhaust.

What is this part that is leaking?

Is it worth trying to fix?

Thanks in advance.

Jonathan

 

[joegr]

Your description is very poor. Could you take a picture?
Did you know that the LS was made for six years? Some years are very different than others. It would really help to know which year you have.
Did you know that the LS came with two different engines? A V6 or a V8. It would really help to know which one you have.

Did you read any of the stickys or do any searching? Head gaskets pretty much never fail on this car. All of the plastic cooling system parts do eventually fail, and usually at just about the same time.

 

[jonbowen234]

Opps I forgot that info. 2003 LS with the V8

I read someplace that the head gaskets go shortly after the coils but not sure if that's true or someone just recommending that you do it when the coils go bad.

It's too dark for a picture. I found the leak with a flashlight but just shut the hood in disgust and walked inside.

 

[joegr]

...I read someplace that the head gaskets go shortly after the coils but not sure if that's true or someone just recommending that you do it when the coils go bad...

There's an incredibly big difference between head gaskets and valve cover gaskets. The original valve cover gaskets on the 2000 to 2003s had problems. Most likely, yours have already been replaced. If not, you'll probably have oil in the plug wells and will need to replace the valve cover gaskets.

Anyway, that's not related to your cooling system problems. There are several more plastic parts at the front of the engine (none of them having anything to do with any temperature sensors) that you need to replace. You'll also need to replace the degas bottle. You should replace the two radiator hoses (the plastic sections will fail). The LS has a very good cooling system when everything is working and there are no leaks. However, all it takes is one little tiny leak to make it fail. Also, when you replace all those parts, there is a very specific factory bleeding procedure to follow.

This recent thread should get you started.
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forum/showthread.php?90449-Replacing-cooling-components-(genII-V8)

 

[jonbowen234]

I have not seen oil in my wells yet but it's been a while. I'll check when I swap out the last coil that is going bad.

Looks like it's the water neck housing. So maybe not as big a deal as I first thought. This video shows a guy who had the same problem that I did. http://youtu.be/aLrkqsrVACY

I'll probably play is loose and not replace the other bits till I get it running and ditch the car for something else. I can't keep up with the repairs.

 

[1LoudLS]

well since you alreaydy had one cooling system part break, the rest are due for changing too. chances are that the other part failed just from taking stuff apart to repair it the last time...

 

[joegr]

well since you alreaydy had one cooling system part break, the rest are due for changing too. chances are that the other part failed just from taking stuff apart to repair it the last time...

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't...

 

[1LoudLS]

truth...