The bulb end goes toward the engine.
The pellet, the copper part opposite the spring with the temperature on it, always goes "into" the engine. The spring end should face out.
No picture, but all thermostats go with the spring side towards the motor. On thermostats I changed, there were words on them and stated which side goes up
According to the 1998 Mercury Villager Owner Guide ( 5W-30 ) is the preferred oil
The previous answer is incorrect! The 3.0 and 3.3 liter engines used in all the Mercury Villagers and Nissan Quests from 1993-2002 have the thermostat installed just the opposite of most all other engines. The spring side of the thermostat goes into the thermostat housing not the engine block as was previously stated below. Flat Side Outward, Spring Side Toward Engine
The Mercury Villager does not have an interference engine (in spite of what you might hear) and will not be damaged if the belt breaks.
Remove the transmission pan and you will see them on the underside of the transmission. The cable goes up through the transmission case near the driver's side front wheel.
Inside the thermostat housing at the end of the big hose that goes to the top of the radiator.
In a 1998 Mercury Villager, the mass air flow sensor is located in the air intake tube. The air intake tube goes from the air box to the intake.
The copper pellet opposite the spring end goes into the engine.
There has been some talk that the Mercury Villager doesnt have a great cooling system, sometimes a bigger radiator replacement might help.. but either way you have to keep the coolant, timming, etc in perfect state. The reason why it goes from normal to hot then back to normal is because that is usually when the temperature rises hi enouth for the thermostat to open up and lets the cooling back in circulation thru the whole system...
The hose that goes in the top of the engine, the thermostat is in the hose.Unscrew the hose take the thermostat out and replace,Very easy
Engine oil goes in the oil cap which is right on the front of the engine and has a picture of an oil can on it.