Where is the thermostat on a 99 Ford Taurus located?

Where is the thermostat located and how to replace it on a 2000-2006 Ford Taurus - Mercury Sable?

• Answer:

  Depends on which engine... 12 valve Vulcan - traditional location at the engine end of the upper radiator hose. Down and slightly left of throttle cable bracket 3 bolts on the housing - CAUTION NOTE for Vulcan Engines: From user WRENCHDUDE: the bottom thermostat housing bolt has been known to break off and has only occurred to me on the Vulcan engine. The problem seem to happen if corrosion sets up in the bolt hole. When you break off the bolt you wont have any trouble at all noticing the corrosion. The big headache is that the bolt is small and it breaks off into aluminum. There is nothing sticking up to get vise grips on. Trying to drill the bolt out without going out of the bolt and eating into the aluminum is the trick. I've gotten to the point at my shop here (after breaking off that lower bolt on 2 different cars) that i dont even want to change thermostats on a Vulcan engine again. You cant just use the other 2 bolts as it wont seal the thermo housing. Those bolts should have been thicker direct from the factory,they are just too scrawny.. The older the car...the more likely the problem. clean gasket surfaces - SPRINGSIDE TO ENGINE and small round "jiggle valve" rotated to the 12:00 o'clock position - torque bolt 7-10 ft.lbs. 24 valve Duratec/DOHC - lower left and attached to lower radiator hose. Remove cover blocking access to bottom of radiator - a bunch of small screws Remove lower radiator hose from thermostat housing - remove 2 bolts - MEMORIZE sequence of thermostat & O-ring - clean surfaces - reinsert SPRINGSIDE UP & o-ring below thermostat - torque bolts 6-9 ft.lbs. - attach lower radiator hose. General tips: COLD COLD COLD engine FIRST Drain coolant to below level of thermostat housing DOHC - Great opportunity for a thorough system flushing Gold/yellow colored anti-freeze per the Owners Manual Read about the factory hose clamp tool!! DOHC owners are gonna want one See "Related Questions" below for more