Mechanical Water Temp Question

The electric sender is only like 1/4" npt. I took out the vacuum coolant switch for the EGR and used that hole. You'll need one of the adapters that comes with the gauge. You might be able to put a brass tee into the heater line, but it could give you low readings...

Matt {peace}

If your intake is stock like mine, it should have one or two ports that are not being used which are plugged. Just get yourself a breaker bar and turn one of the plugs out and slide that sending unit in there. Use the adapters supplied if necessary and don't forget to use some teflon tape on the threads or you could have a leak. The sender on my RC is near the thermostat housing.

Mac

Trailduster79 said:

OK, when I went to install my mechanical water temp gauge I ran into a problem. The sending unit is bigger than the hole for the electric sending unit.

For those of you who are running a mechanical gauge with a stock intake, where did you run the sending unit to? or did you get an adapter?

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thanks for the help guys, I will definitely look to see what I can do. If I remember correctly I couldn't find anything to fit in the plugs to get them out. Is there a special tool? I tried a 3/8 drive ratchet and it wouldn't fit, any suggestions?

If it can wait til I get home I will take a picture of the plug I pulled out and the location where I put the sensor in. I can't remember if it was a hex head or a allen head now.

Trailduster79 said:

thanks for the help guys, I will definitely look to see what I can do. If I remember correctly I couldn't find anything to fit in the plugs to get them out. Is there a special tool? I tried a 3/8 drive ratchet and it wouldn't fit, any suggestions?

Click to expand...

teflon tame on temp sensing parts is usually a no-no. your plumbing adapters will be brass and ought to seal themselves, that s the point of using a soft metal. you might get a little dribble so you could smear a dab of gasket sealant on the threads of what ever size adapter you end up using. if you can t find the right stuf at a car shop try a hardware store.

good luck

It works fine as long as all you cover is the threads and with an older stock manifold with loose threads it is wise to use teflon tape rather than gasket sealer in my experience with old cars since high school.

Johno said:

teflon tame on temp sensing parts is usually a no-no. your plumbing adapters will be brass and ought to seal themselves, that s the point of using a soft metal. you might get a little dribble so you could smear a dab of gasket sealant on the threads of what ever size adapter you end up using. if you can t find the right stuf at a car shop try a hardware store.

good luck

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You're not supposed to use Teflon tape on electric senders, because it can insulate the sender from ground and give you low/no readings. It's ok (and recommended) to use on mechanical gauges tho..

Matt {peace}

macario said:

If it can wait til I get home I will take a picture of the plug I pulled out and the location where I put the sensor in. I can't remember if it was a hex head or a allen head now.

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A picture would be great. Thanks!!

I forgot to add that the plug I removed is a hex head in case you can't see that in the picture. Hope this helps you.

ok guys i am running a 400 with a 2bbl where would that plug be on mine? can't seem to find one

macario said:

Below is the sensor installed. Please note the teflon tape. The ground is taken care of via the wire and tube that carries the bimetallic liquid that goes to the gauge itself which is mounted on the dash inside.

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That's a mechanical gauge - it doesn't use a ground... Don't use Teflon on any type of electrical sender (temp or pressure).. It may work, but you'll get low readings because it's not contacting the full amount of metal it was designed to.

Sig - That appears to be right next to either the bypass or heater hose... Depending on what your engine has, there could be coolant vacuum switches in the plugs...

Matt {peace}

Ok Mike, on mine, I used a plug on the drivers side of the intake (mopar m1 intake). I did have to use an adapter to get it in. You don't want to tee into the heater supply line, as it will yield low readings.

On my stock intake, I think I had to tap it out with a pipe tap a bit bigger to get it in.

If the plug won't come out, you can drill it with a smaller drill bit and use a tap to get the rest out.

You have to check to see what adapter to use. Every gage I have used (been the three now), the sensor will fit the hole, but you have to play with the adapters to see which one to use. Teflon tape is a must with a mechanical sensor.

TheRamChargerMan said:

Ok Mike, on mine, I used a plug on the drivers side of the intake (mopar m1 intake). I did have to use an adapter to get it in. You don't want to tee into the heater supply line, as it will yield low readings.

On my stock intake, I think I had to tap it out with a pipe tap a bit bigger to get it in.

If the plug won't come out, you can drill it with a smaller drill bit and use a tap to get the rest out.

You have to check to see what adapter to use. Every gage I have used (been the three now), the sensor will fit the hole, but you have to play with the adapters to see which one to use. Teflon tape is a must with a mechanical sensor.

Click to expand...

Can you take a pic of it for me?

Will it hurt anything if I pull that EGR thing and plug the EGR line?

not unles you have an egr system that is functioning

I'll try to get a pic this afternoon

I have the EGR valve on there, but not sure if it is functioning. What would it do if I pluged that line?

not sure...I have no egr junk on mine. I think it is just a temp switch anyway, that cuts off vacuum when the engine is cold or hot.

hmmm........


Taz said that is where he put his. Guess I can try it. But I may wait a bit.

Taz....What did you do with your EGR stuff when you pulled the switch?

Ok. according to my fsm, which cvers ytoru truck, the two lines that go to that vacuum switch are to send vacuum to the egr system so the egr valve will open. If you take the two lines off that switch and attach them to each other with a tubing splice, the egr valve will not always be open. That switch opens when coolant temp reaches 108-125 deg to allow vacuum to open the egr valve. so if you remove the switch and splice the hoses together, there will always be enough vacuum to open the egr valve. You can splice them in such a way as to stop vacuum if you want, by putting a bb in the line then slpice them. No vacuum that way.

it all depends on if you want to egr valve to open or not.