Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 10:26:26 -0500
Reply-To: Max/Joyce Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Max/Joyce Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Subject: Re: Oil & cyl temp guage install
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Nick: Having done what you're attemting to do to my old 79, I will share
this. I found usingthe #3 plug hole for the head temp sender a royal PITA.
Changing p;lugs or doing comp. tests were a hassle due to thepigtail
always getting in the eway. You have to remove the plug washer for #3 so
the plug isn't recessed too far in the head also. My solution was to bolt
it to one of the exhaust manifold studs for #3 under the head. Yes, this
will give a hotter reading than the plug location, but all you are really
looking for is a needle on the guage telling you whether it's hotter or
colder than normal. Gene Berg said once that even a $900 pyrometer was not
totally accurate in mesauring temperature in those air cooled heads.
Forget the numbers and put ABCDEF instead of the numbers on the guage. I
tried the stock FI temp sensor locationsince I had gone to dual Webers on
my rig, but it rarely read over 275 degrees wheras the exhaust would climb
to 450 on a stout hill in the summertime.
As for the oil temp sender, I used the much maligned dipstick sender and
had no trouble wirth it . Put it in a pot of boiling water with ignition
on and it read exactly 100 C. at 300 ft. elevation. I thought VDO still
made the sump plate fro the type IV engine with the thread already in
there. I worried avbout rocks and debris destroying the wire and sender,
so I went with the stick. The cost was about the same. Hope I've helped.
Dimwqitted Moose and Flying Squirrel 90GL
----------
> From: Nicholas Wilson <nwilson@MCN.ORG>
> To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Oil & cyl temp guage install
> Date: Thursday, July 02, 1998 3:31 PM
>
> In my '82 air-cooled Westy I'm installing VDO oil temp and cyl head temp
guages. My questions are about locations for senders and guages. I've
checked the list archives and not found the answers.
>
> The oil temp sender instructions say drill a 9/16" hole in the oil sump
plate and mount it there with a supplied jam nut. But this sender fits the
oil drain plug hole. There's nothing in the archives about why this
wouldn't be a good idea. Maybe the brass sender plug isn't strong enough
and might crack, leak or vibrate loose after repeated R&R for oil changes.
I guess there's a reason why VDO doesn't say to put it there. Anybody know?
BTW there's a Timesert steel thread insert in the oil drain plug hole. My
normal spark plug socket fits either the normal drain plug or the VDO
sender plug.
>
> The cyl head temp sender is designed to go under a spark plug or head
bolt. The obvious location to me is under the special bolt on the right
head that fills the hole for Bosch Fuel Injection head temp sensor when the
head is installed on the left side. It's easily accessible. Anybody tried
this or knows why not? Also, has anybody tried using the Bosch screw-in
sender with the VDO guage?
>
> Mounting location for the guages themselves is a puzzle too. I got a
rubber VDO under dash mount block, but I can't find a practical place for
it. It might fit to the left of the steering wheel by the fuse block, but
that could interfere with access to fuses and relays. Also the guages would
be hard to see there. Anybody got a solution? These are the standard 2"
guages, and I might want to add one or two more later. A nice mini-console
that mounts on top the dash would be nice if anyone knows a source.
>
> Finally there's the problem of routing all the wiring from the engine to
the dash. Anybody know a source of generic wiring harness with multiple
conductors inside a sheath?
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