ok, i have a JET fan switch (not installed), u know the one that turns on the electric fan at 200 and off at 185. anyway, im at college so i dont have the stuff to put it in myself. So i went to a shop today to get it put in. but they tell me that if they put it in the location the instructions say, i will lose my temp. gauge. but i thought they were two separate sensors. please clear this up about where it goes

 

I didn't have any problems with mine, it goes right between the back to plugs on the passenger side.

 

If that's what the guy at the shop told you, he's retarded (to put it mildly). That fan switch you bought replaces the stock fan switch, as which Rockhound pointed out, screws into the passenger side of your intake manifold --- on the completely opposite side of the engine compartment from the temperature sensor sending unit, which sticks out of the driver's side (you can ID it by the unusual sideways slide-on connector it has.

It is not very complicated to change fan switches. Technically, you're supposed to drain all your coolant, BUT you can (1st, let your coolant cool down so that it won't burn you) just unscrew the old fan switch (it might be difficult to get loose at first, try some PB blaster on it ahead of time, a couple times) and quickly replace it with the new one, before too much coolant leaks out. Let the car run (warm) with the radiator cap off for a few minutes to let any air bubbles you introduced work themselves out, then add any necessary coolant to the overflow tank. Oh yeah, teflon pipe thread tape on the threads of the new sensor wouldn't hurt. Have fun.

(take my advice at your own risk... this is what I did on my car a while back, but someone else here may have some reason why this might not be the best way to do it...)

 

Hey, I might be wrong, but I'd be afraid to put teflon tape (or any type of sealant) on that fan switch. The way I understand it, that fan switch makes a connection between the wire (carries 12 volts from the fan relay) to the engine block when the desired temperature is reached. Putting something between the switch and the block might keep it from getting a good connection (providing the fan relay with a ground to the block) and keep the fan relay from sending power to the fan motor.

 

I can understand your concern, but I think you'll still get plenty of contact with all the sensor's metal surface (besides the threads) that is still in contact... mine is working fine. I don't know if the tape really matters, though - just a habit.

 

It works fine with Teflon tape.

 

The instructions on mine said to use teflon tape. I think it could ground through the coolant fluid anyways. Put teflon on mine and it works great...

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the fan switch is in the head on the passenger side between 6 and 8, not on the intake manifold?

 

It is right beside the dipstick tube. Yes it is not in the intake manifold. There are some temp sensors in the intake for temp gauge and stuff.

 

I'm not sure about other years, but on my 92:
1)The fan switch is in the passenger side head, between cyls #6 and #8.
2)The gauge sender is on the driver's side head,
between cyls #1 and #3.
3)The computer's coolant temp sensor is on the
intake manifold, next to the thermostat housing.
-Rich-

 

Sorry, that was my bad (brain fart typo). Funny, cause when I bought my replacement fan sw, I remember arguing with the damn parts guy that it was in the head and he was insisting that "the computer says" the sw is in the head!