Mechanical temp gauge

[SKimballC]

After my years staring at the extra gauges in my 230 hp VW hippie bus and the various grease burning rigs I've set-up and driven, I now HATE that worrisome feeling I get when my eye wanders over to them... ignorance is bliss and my radiator IS new, but still... I have a mechanical engine temp gauge laying around that I just can't bring myself to install yet can't stop thinking about installing. The place to put the sender is the spot in the head where the engine overheat sender is located right? What will I miss by removing the overheat switch? A check engine light if it overheats?

 

[pafixitman]

That is where mine is. Yep, just the idiot overheat light.

 

[akoldnav]

My temp guage sender is located at the back of the drivers side head. There is a plug in that location, so nothing has to be disabled. The only thing is that it might require moving the turbo during the installation. It did on my banks.

good luck.

akoldnav

 

[SKimballC]

I went and had a look at the heads in the garage. I see what you mean. But that would be a headache with the turbo. It would be the perfect spot, but I don't know about that, I can imagine the stream of profanities already.

 

[icanfixall]

I have mine in the port thats just between the injection pump and the drivers side head. That location is where the dash gage picks up from. I then "found" a 1/2x5/8 shoulderless close bushing and reinstalled the dash gage sender in the pluged port on the water upmp. That position in the pump is where the heads mix together before the coolant reaches the thermostat. So, all my factory gages function and my mechanical Isspro coolant temp gage matches. If you use the heads port you will see about a plus 7 to 10 degree increase in readings.

 

[SKimballC]

So are you saying that the block port where the stock sender goes and the port in the water pump would read about the same? If that's the case I see no reason to move the stock sender, and stick my aftermarket sender in the water pump port as long as I can find a bushing to make it fit.

 

[icanfixall]

If you have a Banks turbo the cdr valve hose attaching to the timing gear cover makes for a very close fit. Thats why I moved my senders so everything fits. I needed to file down the machine screw threads for the original sender to fit under the cover. I also used a small wire lug and a nut on the sender because of the close fit. It looks like it wont fit but it does. Kinda like the Banks down pipe looks like it wont fit but it will.....

 

[SKimballC]

I found the bushing that's on the sender- it came off my junk engine- and it'll thread into the water pump plug- on the junk engine. Only problem is I can't really get on the square plug in the port on the engine in the truck. Its tight. I'll mess with that tomorrow. The mosquitos drove me in tonight.
I do not have a Banks. Its wide open up there as long as I can get the square plug out. One thing about moving the stock senders, I doesn't look like the wires would reach if they were rearranged.

 

[icanfixall]

Mine were short too so I added a short length of wire to make it up. Try letting the truck warm up before you try to remove the plug. It may help. That or use a deep socket that will fit and a breaker bar.