Temperature guages??

[James M]

Seeing how I am curently missing some of the lower sheet metal I was thinking of installing an oil and or cylinder head temperature guage and see just how hot it is running. I was wondering what is involved with installing the sending units. Are they just bolt on parts or is there some drilling of metal required?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

They are bolt-on... Mostly.

The CHT sensor looks kind of like a washer with a wire coming off the side of it. The washer is designed in theory to fit around a spark plug, but I could not get the plug to go all the way in with the washer on there. Mine is currently under the FI's CHT sensor. I'm not sure how well that will work, though. I'll know when I get the car back together again.

The oil temp sensor goes up above the front-left sump plate. The one held on with two bolts. You can drill your plate, or go with the factory plate which has a recess that keeps the sender from hanging down under the car. Cleaner, but more expensive. I don't think the complete setup is in the catalog, but talk to Tom and ask what the parts cost. (Or see if you can find the setup used at a wrecker.)

The stock oil temp gauge is unlabeled. The range of the sender is also not a standard one. So if you want to find out actual temperatures, you need to buy and aftermarket gauge and sender both.

Good luck!

--DD

[djs]

The cylinder head temp sensor is a good and useful thing to have, and also easy to install. One neat aspect of it is that the temperature reading (0-600 deg.F) is very sensitive, and you can actually see the temperature rise and fall as you apply power and let off of the gas (at least that's how mine behaves). The oil temp sensor on the 914 responds much more slowly to changes in temperature, or perhaps the oil temperature itself changes much more slowly. (?)

I use the CHT sender on my aircooled 2L Vanagon (same basic engine as the 914, but with different heads having a slightly different spark plug angle).

I had to bend the sender ring to 90 deg. so that it would seat all the way into sparkplug recess. I think the sender is a universal design, otherwise I would have expected it to fit without alteration.

Dan

[Clinton Ford]

Dave / Dan,
Under normal operating conditions and at an outdoor temperature of 20 deg. C, what would the typical temperature indication be for a 73 2.0 fitted with the original temp. sender and gauge.
From experience, my guage reads less than one quarter. However in very hot summer conditions (Australian Summer)the gauge will nearly read half way (at highway speeds).
Is this normal? Or does it suggest the sender unit is not operating correctly in its typical working range?
Thanks
CC Ford

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

No clue. That's one of the real problems with the gauges being unlabeled, and with several differetn calibrations of gauges and senders being available.

Sorry!

--DD

[JP Noonan]

Call me crazy (or just cheap) but what I plan on doing is this. Next time I change my oil I'll remove the oil temp plate (with sender in it) and the gauge. I'll then give the gauge +12v from an extra batt and ground the gauge and sender to an old aluminum pot. Then I will boil some water in the pot with a mercury thermometer. Maybe it will give me and Idea of what temp rangeMY gauge reads, but like Dave said there were at least 3 different gauges calibrated to 3 different senders.

Sound like a good plan?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Sounds like a great plan! That's how calibrating your gauge is done.

--DD

[djs]

My oil temp needle usually climbs slowly to around the half-way mark and stays there during normal driving. It has never gone past 3/4 of the black band on the hottest day.

However, knowing this is of limited value without actual temperature readings. I would follow up with J.P. Noonan's temperature readings once he conducts his test.

[michael]

Besides buying an aftermarket gauge with real live numbers and matching sender, you can get a hand held pyrometer. This battery powered pistol grip tool will immediately tell you the temp of any material you aim it at. In both Centigrade and Farenheit.

Good for oil temp, tire temp, head temp etc. The are available from Racer's Wholesale and other fine shops. I'm sure that Tom and Wayne can even provide them for you.

[halbl]

I AGREE WITH JP. Had a cooking stove that seemed to burn things. So, put water and candy thermo in stove and set at 350 degrees. The thermo actually showed 375, so I pulled the knob off and re-installed it at 375. Go for it.