Coolant Sensor Confusion?

[LooseFab]

Hey Guys. Long time lurker, first time poster. been having ongoing issues with my ranger, and code reader said coolant temp sensor. This is where things get weird and I really need the help of somebody smarter than me! The one on the left is the one I pulled out of the truck. the top cracked off and fell in the deep snow and I was unable to find it, so was not able to get any part numbers off it. The one on the right is what the part store gave me for my truck, 2011 Ranger 4.0,4x4 auto. Everything I can find online shows the one on the right is correct. some forum posts on here say there should be 2 sensors side by side, mine only has one. I can occasionally find a part number that is threaded but it has thicker diameter threads and would not work for this truck.

I found a generic one on amazon that said it would work for my truck, and it did. But Im guessing the voltage(?) was incorrect, as the gauge read warm when the truck was cold, and pegged out to the hot side when truck was at operating temp.

Im going crazy trying to find the correct part and really need some help. In the mean time would I hurt anything by driving with the wrong voltage sensor when the truck thinks its overheating? It seems to drive fine.

 

[franklin2]

Your truck would have one sensor. The two sensor trucks are the old school trucks where the fuel injection system used one, and the gauge used the other. Your gauge is integrated into the network with the ECM.

The threaded versus o-ring style is interesting. I looked your truck up on rockauto(assume it's a 4.0) and the first sensor they show is threaded, a HOLSTEIN 2CTS0220. Factory interchange for this type sensor is F7DZ10884AA, GY0118510, ZZN018510

But every other sensor shown for your truck is the o-ring type. That's over 20 different brands of sensors, all o-ring.

All the ones on Autozone's site are the o-ring type.

Ford Parts Giant interestingly does list a threaded sensor. Same part number above F7DZ-10884-AA
But I found out they list this sensor fitting a 2.3 4cyl engine.

The o-ring style is part number
Ford 3L8Z-12A648-A

That is listed as fitting a 4.0 SOHC engine.