Oil Temp. Gauge Sending Unit

[Barber Dave]

I put in the console I just bought, every thing went O.K. untill I went to hook up the wire from the Oil temp. Gauge. There was not a sending unit on my car, the only place I can find is there are two threaded pipe plug s near the oil filter.
Is this the correct location for the sending unit?
Does it really matter which one I use?

Thanks in advance . Dave

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Stock was up inside the "taco plate", the left-front sump plate that is held on by two bolts.

There was a special sump plate that had a hole for the rubber grommet and wire. Above that was a plate that had a threaded hole for the sender.

I have part numbers for stock parts if you really need them (no idea if any/all of them are NLA). They weren't cheap last I checked.

--DD

[Barber Dave]

Thanks Dave; I guess I was really off base. Send me the part numbers, and is there a alternate location? I just ordered Part #
VDO-323055 temperature sending unit, do I have the right one. This goes under the taco plate? Thanks Dave

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I'll just put the info here...

There are a number of parts you'll need if you want to duplicate the stock setup. The wire holders can be skipped if you simply want the functionality, but you will have to come up with a good way to route the wire.

The stock setup has what I call an "upper plate", which the temp sender screws into with a crush washer. An O-ring goes around this plate. A gasket goes under it, and a "cover plate" below that. Two bolts hold the cover plate (and the upper plate) on, and there is a crush-washer on each of those. On the cover plate is a wire holder which is crimped around the wire, and a rubber boot where the wire goes through the cover plate. Another wire holder is mounted on one of the studs that hold the oil filter flange onto the case. A third is located on one of the oil cooler bracket bolts on the other side of the motor (the wire goes across the lower front of the motor). The wire goes up through a grommeted hole in the engine tin, where it plugs into another wire. That wire goes into the main wiring bundle, where it goes to the gauge.

I highly recommend getting the calibrated aftermarket VDO sender and gauge, rather than the original stock ones. The gauge is slightly smaller, but this is something that can be lived with if you buy the adaptor ring--or make one yourself out of a roll of electrical tape.

Parts:
Cover plate: 039.101.267
O-ring: 021.101.269 A
Gasket: 039.101.287
Small crush washers: N 13.803.2
Upper plate?????: 039.101.275
Cable holder: 039.101.283
Crush washer for sender: 900.123.007.30
Boot: 311.949.149 A
Original sender: 039.919.268
Original gauge: 914.641.118.20
(later version): 914.641.118.30

Aftermarket sender: VDO-323055
Aftermarket gauge: VDO-310012


The part numbers for the stock parts are all VW/Porsche part numbers. The ones for the aftermarket sender and gauge are Pelican's part numbers.

I am not certain that the part labeled "Upper plate?????" is really the upper plate, but there isn't anything else listed that could be it. The notation in the parts manual is "Protective Cap (telethermometer) for oil pan-cover". At first, I thought that was the boot, but the boot is illustrated quite clearly later on. So I'm not really sure, but I can't think of anything else that could be it, and it is in the right part of the book to be the upper plate. Hopefully Thomas or Darren can help you out with that.

Another option is to simply drill the stock plate for the sender, but that leaves a good part of the sender exposed to the air which is much cooler than the oil.

[Ron Meier]

The other choice is to drill the side of the case, below oil level, have a threaded fitting heliarced over the hole and screw the temp sensor into it.

or

Use the oil drain and screw the sensor in there (make sure depth of oil will cover sensor.

or

Have the plate modified by welding a fitting onto it at an angle (like the factory one).

or

run an external cooler with a tee in line to fit the sensor in

or

change the oil temp to a pressure guage and use the 911 VDO dual sending unit and not worry about temp.