Haven't seen that one. Nor have I had any problems with the replacement parts (I've done this on two cars), but it took 8 years for the original to fail, so if the replacement lasts that long, it'll be plenty long enough.

 

Hello everyone,
Thank you all for your useful input. Last week I run into the same problem with my Sebring '04. Suddenly, while driving 60km/h the water sensor went close to the red zone, with the sound alarm and sensor light on. I pulled over, open the hood and there was hissing noise and steam coming out from the housing, between the 2 parts glued together.
I waited until the engine cooled off a bit, got some tap water (nothing else available) and pured about 3 litters in. Started the engine, the temperature was withing the normal range.
Droved home, about 10 km, the temp was within normal range.
Tried to use JB Weld - didn't work for me --> initially the sensor didn't move from the cold-zone, then suddenly started to rise up, and the top-part of the housing blew off.
Ordered Dorman replacement - $88.00 (Toronto), in 3 hours delivered to the store.
Installed the new part, started teh car, bleeded it a couple of times, run for about 20 km and the sensor is showing lower-than-expected temperature.
Is that normal?

 

You didn't report anything about replacing the antifreeze you lost. Adding 3 liters of tap water will dilute your antifreeze and reduce it's effectiveness. Now that you really have no idea what concentration of antifreeze you actually have in there, it's probably best to get a proper flush and fill with the proper concentration of the correct antifreeze. Don't just run out and buy any old stuff and dump it in there *****-nilly. Different types of antifreeze are incompatible. Get the right stuff as spelled out in the owners manual.

As for the temperature gauge, it usually operates toward the low end of the range, maybe one quarter of the way between the "C" and the "H". If the heater is putting out enough heat to get you through a Canadian winter, you're fine.

Next time, leave the bleed screw alone. Fill the system and operate the car through a few warm-up and cool-down cycles. It'll bleed itself, then refill as necessary.

 

Thank you dcotter,
I am planning to flush and replace antifreeze, and by the seller advise I bought Prestone Dex-Cool, it does say on the bottle that it meets Chrysler LLC MS-7170, MS-9769, beside GM , and it is 5yrs/150.000 miles.

In my owner manual says: look under the hood --> nothing there about the coolant.
Haynes book says the same about 2004 sedans, 2.7: "look under the hood".

The temperature before was constantly between 3/8 and 1/2 on the scale (C--H).
The first day run for about 20 minutes on HWY it was top on 1/4!
In the afternoon, after another 30 minutes driving, it reached 3/8, but not over. I guess it might be because its too much water, or the new sensor (made in China) is not as correct as the original one.

Heating, cooling and A/C are working fine.

When flushing the cooling system, do I have to remove the thermostat, as it says in Haynes? And then put it back in, and then fill up...
Another question: I didn't see any opening on the top of the radiator, so do I fill up from the expansion tank?

Thank you.

 

You fill at the expansion tank. Draining is the problem. There's a draincock at the bottom right side of the radiator, but it's a bear to get to and it's plastic. If you break it, there's a whole new set of problems.
You might want to consider buying a Prestone flush-n-fill kit. Basically, you cut into a heater hose and insert a "T" fitting to which you can connect a garden hose. Then you can flush the whole system using that fitting and fill also by adding the anti-freeze which pushes out the water.
It works better if you can remove the thermostat, but that's a difficult procedure on the 2.7L engine, because to get to it, you need to remove the alternator. The t-stat is on the bottom front of the engine. Yes. it's an idiotic design.
Another caution with the Prestone kit is that city water pressure can be as high as 90 psi, plenty enough to blow the seals on the car's water pump, which is designed for about 16 psi. So if you use it, just crack your hose tap to allow the water to flow slowly.
Me, I've given up on the whole process and take the car over to the local Valvoline oil change shop where they do the job for about $80 or so. Basically, they pull off a hose and insert their own "T" fittings.
Your new sensor probably explains the difference in the needle position. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

 

Thanks dcotter,
I got a quote for $60 from my shop, (flush and refill) with coolant provided by me, and I will go for it.

What is bothering me is that I didn't see the fans to turn ON since I changed the sensor. With car idle the needle doesn't go over 3/8. All hises are HOT on touch.
The fans were working OK before, like when the engine is hot (close to 1/2) the fan was ON. Is that because of the sensor?
Like, if the sensor gives lower value to the PCM, then PCM doesn't start the fan for no reason...
Is there any sense to put back the old (original) sensor? Its metal to metal thread connection, as it is with the new bleeder...

Another thing, when the problem first occurred, with the old (original) sensor, the fan turned OFF when I turned OFF the ignition key, even though the engine was still hot.
Is that a relay issue?

Thank you.

 

The way I read the wiring diagram, both the high speed and low speed fan relays are energized through the ignition switch, which means that when the key is turned off, the fans should kick out.
As far as when the fans should come on, with the A/C off, the low speed fan should kick in at 220°F (104°C), the high speed fan at 230°F(110°C). (It's a pressurized system so the coolant temp can exceed normal boiling temps.) With the A/C on and pressurized the low speed fan comes on at 210°F.
Yes, you could swap out the temp sensor, assuming it's the same thread size (probably is). The problem with the bleed screw is not with the threads directly, but that the threads stick and when you turn the screw, the metal piece it threads into spins in the plastic housing because it's not well anchored, causing a leak. You really have nothing to lose by trying to remove the old sensor from the old housing. If it sticks and breaks the housing, so what? If it comes out, you're probably going to be OK. The new part is less likely to stick. If you decide to try it and are successful in extracting both the old and new sensors, use teflon tape on the threads of the sensor when putting it in. Be careful not to put the tape on beyond the end of the threads so you don't wind up with scraps of tape floating in the system.

 

Thank you dcotter,

I followed the fact that AC-on is lowering the temperature threshold for the fans, and while idling in the parking spot, with engine hot (needle showing 1/4), I turned On-OFF the AC a couple of times. Guess what - about 2 seconds after AC-on the fans start, run for about 30 seconds, and stop for about 20-30 seconds, and then again, cycling.

AC-off --> the fans turn OFF and stay OFF.
AC-on again --> fans start cycling on-off.

I tried to take the old sensor out of the housing, but it didn't work - spins in the housing. So I wouldn't go further with this option.
On Monday I will flush & change the coolant and I will let you know if there is any change.

Is there a possible situation that the engine will overheat without sensing it? Or I should drive the car with my AC-on all the time

 

The fans operate only as necessary. As they cool down the car, they shut off. Your description sounds like they are working properly. There is not much load on the car when idling. The engine is not working very hard and there is not a great need to dump heat. Turning on the A/C increases the load slightly. When the car is really working hard, such as driving at high speeds or pulling a trailer or climbing hills, the fans may or may not be needed because there may be sufficient air flow without them.
Driving the car with the A/C on won't help cool the engine. The A/C system dumps heat from the interior of the car to the condenser, which is actually located right in front of the radiator, so between the extra load on the engine and the heat dumped into the incoming radiator air, you are actually putting more load on the car's cooling system.
As I said, the fans are not expected to work continuously. Your description sounds like they are coming on and off as intended.

 

Here is what I did in order to see if there is any change in the fan's work:
I heat up the engine (driving outside about 10 km) and then park in the underground garage in order to let the engine run idling, and heat up enough in order to start the fans. No air flow through the radiator.

- before changing the coolant, assuming that the car is running mainly on water, I would say more than 85% water --> after 10 minutes idling the needle did not move up from 1/4 and the fans did not come ON.
I pushed it to 2.500 - 3.000 rpm for a couple of minutes --> the needle rises up to the middle between 3/8 and 1/2 --> the fans come ON.

- after the flush and changing the coolant --> after 5 minutes idling the needle rises up to the same point (middle between 3/8 and 1/2) and the fans come ON.

I would assume that the thermostat reads different values if there is water (freezing at 0, boiling at 100 Celsius) and coolant (freezing below -37 C, boiling above 129 C).
Is that possible?