Date:         Thu, 2 Jul 1998 13:31:37 -0700
Reply-To:     Nicholas Wilson <nwilson@MCN.ORG>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Nicholas Wilson <nwilson@MCN.ORG>
Subject:      Oil & cyl temp guage install
Comments: To: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

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?