oil temp gauge installation

[darkdan]

Well, it appears I'm going to have to drill a hole into my oil pan. =(

I know the best way is to remove the oil pan, but how bad would it be to just go nuts and drill into it with it still on. Then fill it with oil and drain it back out before turning it on hoping to remove any shavings?

I'm up for any other suggestions besides the typical, "put it back on ebay" thing. =)

 

[drm7]

I would sure worry about slivers from drilling not making it to the filter safely or out the drain. I think you should bite-the-bullet and do it the "right" way.

 

[Matt_S]

IMHO, that's not a terrible idea. (I'm assuming pan removal requires engine removal, too.) When you're drilling, I would suggest doing so as close to the drain plug as possible and/or as far away from the oil pickup as possible. If any shavings were to remain in the oil, I would expect them A) not to make it past the pickup screen or B) not to make it past the oil filter. If the filter is in bypass, though, any shavings making it past the pickup screen would circulate into the engine.

Is there a way you can drop the pan just enough to get a rag in there? or even just a magnetic pickup tool to grab any shavings?

 

[XS650]

Sounds like a pretty gross thing to do Dan, but others have gotten away with it.

If you decide to do it, you can do a pretty good job if you:
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Use a sharp drill.

Put a piece of tubing around your drill so it will go no further into the pan than necessary to make the hole.

Keep a big glob of greas on your drill bit to capture metal that doen't come spiralling back like it should.

After the hole is drilled, carefully probe around the inside of the hole with a dental pick or some such to check for and remove burrs on the inside of the hole.


Make some practice holes on a simillar piece of metal where you can observe what happens on the inside before you actually drill on your pan.
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How are you going to get the gauge sender to seal against the pan?

 

[427Z06]

Dan, isn't there a way to put a tee fitting where the original oil sender unit is located?

 

[SteveD2]

What about putting the sender in the drain plug?

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by ZmOz:
What about putting the sender in the drain plug?

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That's a good spot, assuming the plug is big enough to be tapped for a sender and it is positioned so the sender won't get whacked off by some obstacle.

If you start with a small enough sender, you might be able to find an adaptor to thread it into the drain plug hole. 1/8 pipe is a fairly common small sender size and a lot of adaptors are made that that are female 1/8 pipe in the center.

I used an Equus 6848 kit to get an adaptor I needed to but an oil temp sender on a motorcyce. One might fit Dan's drain plug hole, or rather his cars drain plug hole.

http://www.iequus.com/accessory.asp?cid=120

 

[darkdan]

I might end up doing it the right way.

I was thinking about the drain plug idea, but then realized it's in a bad spot. Considering the plug itself has a nice dent in it from when it hit something (or the other way around) I'm sure it'd be a week before it got caught on something.

The oil pressure sender is 1/8" I think. TINY little thing. Mazda engine if that tells you anything. The sender for the oil temp gauge is rather large and long. So if I were to put a T fitting there I'd have to rig up something special.

Aparently I can drop the pan without removing the engine. Just a few bolts and the fly wheel cover and it's down goes the pan. Just something tells me I'm not nearly motivated enough. LOL.

I've heard of the grease trick before, but I'm still very weary of doing it with the pan on. Also, the instructions say to get an Autometer no 2261 steel weld fitting and weld it into the pan.

The temp sensor is about 2" long or so. It has a 1/2" NPT fitting and the sealing nut I'd have to measure. So if anyone can figure out something fun to put together to T the 1/8" oil pressure spot and then hook up a pipe or something to put the temp sensor in and this and that....let me know. Please use detailed instructions and possibly even tell me which part numbers to order! =)

Thanks.

 

[XS650]

Dan, I share your leariness of drilling ahole in the pan with the pan in place, even though people do it and get away with it taking fewer precautions than I gave you.

I have always welded or brazed a fiting in the pan to accept the temp sender when installing one in an oil pan. Sounds like you just need a little bit of motivation to drop your pan. Just do it, you will sleep a lot better than if you take a short cut. You are cursed by knowing the difference between the right way and 1/2 arsed.

From the way you describe your pressure sensor plumbing, it doen't sound like a T will work for you. You need oil flow around the temp sensor if you are going to get meaningful readings. Hanging a bunch of big fittings off a 1/8 pipe fitting is also a good way to fatigue crack a fitting from vibration.

 

[Gary Allan]

Let me get this right here....

quote:

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The temp sensor is about 2" long or so. It has a 1/2" NPT fitting and the sealing nut I'd have to measure.

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This is a BIG thread on this sensor (did you mean sender?)...it is also very long.

You need a "bell reducer", a 2 x 1/2" nipple (to fit the REALLY LONG sender/sensor), a 1/8 tee and an 1/8 close nipple to adapt this to your oil sender's port.

I've also got to ask if you've studied the oil flow path through your engine. How close to the water jacket are you. I installed an oil temp gauge on a Ford 2.3 block ..that just happened to have a convenient port available. The oil temp trailed ..but tracked the water temp. So ..was I really measuring the oil temp ..or just the water temps effects on the oil at that point in the engine??

I've got to ask: What gauge is this? Every gauge that I've ever bought had a 1/8" npt size (naturally for American iron) sender. All my old Stew Warners (over 20 years ago) ..and my Cyberdyne that I just bought last month. Adapters (brass bushings) were usually included for the Euros and the Asians.

This wouldn't happen to be some kind of industrial RTD (resistive thermal device) would it???

 

[darkdan]

This is an auto meter 2610...or soemthing. I don't remember the exact number. It's the bargin basement 2 1/16" model.

The temp sensor/sender is indeed huge. I was also worried that a lot of plumbing wouldn't allow a good reading.

Looks like I'll have to get off my lazy bum and drop the pan.

Think JB weld would be good enough or should I see about finding someone who can weld?

 

[XS650]

Darkdan, Weld or braze. JB weld is a miracle in twotubes, but miracles only go so far.

Once the pan is off the car, it shouldn't be hard to find someone to weld or braze the fitting in place.

 

[toyo]

This may sound crazy. If you do drill with the pan on, I would do it with some oil in the pan. Yes, it will be messy, but any shaving will stay suspended in the oil and not fly around. Am I off my rocker?

 

[darkdan]

That's what I was thinking, but never know. I'm sure I'd be the unlucky SOB that it goes straight for the bearings or something.

That and I'm not sure how much clearance I have behind whereever I decide to drill so I'm sure I'd end up ruining something.

Now I just have to find someone in southern MN that welds for cheap. =) And I have to find a day or two that I won't be lazy and can install it. The things I do for just another pretty light to look at!

 

[427Z06]

quote:

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Originally posted by darkdan:
The things I do for just another pretty light to look at!

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I always spend money when it comes to things that look perty. Is that not a good thing to do?

 

[OffOrWFO]

All of my oil temp senders were welded into the pan before the engine was installed.
But I was thinking how about a remote oil filter with the sendor in line. Less work but more money plus you have the option of a bigger filter or a cooler if you want. You could use a IR temperature gun to check accuracy if your worried.

 

[Gary Allan]

The flow will be slow anyway ...and just get a bigger hose adapted to your needs (it really helps to have dealt with a multitude of industrial piping for 15 years). I still don't know how accurate this would be

. I would probably, due to the low flow, insulate the line somewhat..at least any exposed piping (I think any braided hose would be okay). If you know someone with one of those cheaper thermal pointing devices ..you can compare the full flow to the bypass filter.

In your case ..you would need whatever line you choose to go to the bypass. You adapt a 1/2" "T" somewhere in the line. You insert a 2 1/2" x 1/2" nipple into the perpendicular part of the "T". Install 1/2" coupling on end of "T" ..insert sender. You can also do this with an "L" and and a "T" if you want the oil to flow over the entire length of the sender. The oil would enter or exit the "L" and travel the entire length of the nipple . The sender would be inserted "in-line" on the "T" and the egress or ingress of the oil would be on the prependicular part of the "T".


To adapt the "T" to the bypass line ..just buy the appropriate reducer bushings (bushings go inside = male big threads/female small threads. With "bell" reducers have both threads female).

If you decide to use braided hose ..it's sold in "1/16ths". Number 8 hose is 1/2" (8/16ths). The Aeroquip collars and fittings are "AN". So ..you buy 6 to 8 feet of #4 braided hose. and, for the oil tap you get a 1/8" NPT to #4 An fitting that the collar tightens to. At the "T" you get two 1/2" to #4 AN fittings and so on for each respective terminal end of the hose.

There you have it....clear as mud!!

jegs.com

 

[darkdan]

Just wait till that comes in the mail.

"Honey, I HAD to buy a $200 bypass filter otherwise I would have to drill a hole into my oil pan for my $13 oil temp gauge."

=) I'm thinking that would work really well as long as I put the T realitively close to the engine on the line to the bypass filter.

 

[darkdan]

I was thinking about getting a bypass and seeing if I could figure out a way to hook it up to it, but the size of this sender would definetly slow the flow through a hose.