96 Thermostat - Does it exist?

Ok, I've changed thermostats in nearly every vehicle I've owned for the last 20 years and never have I not been able to find it. I am stumped. When I follow the upper radiator hose to the block there is no thermostat housing. There is a rather long neck coming out of the block, which the upper hose attaches to, and it has a ball-like appendage near the engine block.

My Hanes repair manual says the thermostat housing should be where it is not...at the engine block end of the upper hose. Any thoughts, guidance, and direction is appreciated. :banghead:

What engine?

Yep, kind of forgot the important details (that's how frustrated I am). It is a 4 cylinder.

thanks

I have a 94 ranger with the 4 cyl and besides my 99 cavalier it was the biggist pain in the ass to change i've ever had with a thermostat. It is located at the other end of the water neck just where you'd expect it to be but it's kind of buried. To get at it you have to try to get a 10mm socket on the bolt heads, this is tricky because there is little room between the bolts and surrounding parts. So pretty much pull out the two bolts fight the neck out and change the thermostat and gasket. Good luck!

Sounds like the kind of job I'm not looking for. This may be a trip to the shop out of shear convenience and laziness. Thanks for the insight.

I had done many thermostats before attempting my ranger. This one is an outright PITA. When trying to put it back together I had one of those 10mm bolts "fall" and not on the ground. I couldn't find it anywhere. I had a buddy that worked at a shop come help me out. He said he had seen it before and we checked and found the bolt. The bolt bounced it's way behind the timing belt cover and down between the belt and pulley. If I had started my truck without finding that bolt... Kablamo. So be careful.

Sounds like the kind of job I'm not looking for. This may be a trip to the shop out of shear convenience and laziness. Thanks for the insight.

I did this job a couple of days ago on my '94 2.3L Ranger. I had to replace the timing belt and while in there, I noticed the water pump was leaking and while I'm in there replacing it, just as well change the thermostat. There are two bolts holding the thermostat housing and a 10mm socket will get to them. If you use a 3/8" drive socket, it will not fit the bolt on the right side because the outer timing belt cover is to close to the bolt head. A 1/4" drive socket since it has a thinner wall will get in there with the cover on, but it will be a little snug. If you have air conditioning, you'll find that the high pressure line going to the AC compressor will come directly across both bolts. The easiest way to get around this is to remove the four bolts holding the AC compressor to its bracket and swing the compressor out of the way toward the front of the vehicle with the lines attached. Then it shouldn't be any problem.