W202 M112 Coolant Temp Sensor
 

Hey guys. Apparently when I pulled the water pump on my '99 C280, I broke the coolant temperature sensor. Now of course I get the Check engine light and no temperature reading. I need to use the car tomorrow to get to work about 40 miles away. :( What's the risk of traveling that far & back with no temp sensor? Thanks!

Not a good idea! Most likely the engine won't run properly as well!

If the coolant sensor is removed from the block, do not drive the car. Coolant will leak out of the passage designed for the sensor and the car might overheat!

Thanks for the replies! The sensor was not out of the block, it snapped at the connector so no coolant lose. Unfortunately I had to drive the car for that 1 day. Turns out the senor didn't cause a problem but the idler pulley did. I guess the tension of the new belt was too much for the old pulley which broke and shredded the belt.

Got it towed, picked up a new pulley & sensor at the dealer next day and we're good now. Only problem was getting the spring clip for the senor back in properly. It's in but not as it was when I removed it. Very tight space to work with. I'm hoping someone can give me some insight on how to get that clip in correctly.

Thanks again.