Originally Posted by nephewhelper

Timing belt broke on my nephew's 98 2.3L Ranger. Went ahead and replaced the water pump and thermostat while replacing the belt. The original thermostat was rusted apart, came out in two pieces. The new one didn't fit the way I would think it should, it was loose in the housing, but I went ahead and installed it anyway.

The temp. gauge on the dash stopped registering anything after reassembly. I jumped a wire across the leads and confirmed that the dash gauge does work. Ran the engine, confirmed the thermostat opened, drove the truck, and had good heat in the cab. I assumed that the temp sensor bought the farm during disassembly.

He's been driving the truck for few days and now has no heat in the cab. I was planning on replacing the temp sensor today, but now it sounds like the thermostat is stuck open.

Should the Thermostat fit snuggly into the housing, and will the wrong thermostat effect the temp sensor?

Thanks for reading, can use all the kelp I can get.