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I suspect that this is a freak scenario, but I just had a cylinder head temp sensor fail in a spectacular way on my 981 GTS Boxster The temp sensor fell/broke off the cylinder head (right on top of cylinder 3) and drained coolant all over in a river of pink sadness. Thankfully I was on my driveway returning from picking it up from storage.
Unfortunately the car is undriveable because coolant will not stay in the car, and I am considering replacing the sensor (likely with the help of a skinny armed friend) in my driveway instead of towing it to a mechanic.
Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to access the top of cylinder 3 (right bank rear cylinder) Or any idea how to best replace this? I can just barely touch the hole where it plugs in, but I can’t quite tell how the connection sets in and accessibility from the top engine access seems unlikely.
Just in case anyone ever has this issue in the future, the temp sensor part number was 948-606-420-01. I decided to do the job myself in order to avoid dealing with towing the vehicle.
The job essentially involved: 1. removal of top engine cover 2) remove the old temp sensor with a deep socket and long extensions (19MM), 3) fish it out out of the hole with any method necessary (long needle nose plier would have been helpful), 4) place and install new temp sensor. I spent more time trying to remove the sensor after it was unscrewed than anything else.
This is what the removed sensor looked like. I have no idea how this happened, but the Boxster is back in action after about 3-4 hours of diagnosing, ordering, fixing, and stressing.
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981 GTS Head Temp Sensor broke off
