I have a 351w. I just got the Speedhut 7 gauge package.. neat stuff.
Question? where is a good place to put the oil temp sensor?
Question? where is a good place to put the oil temp sensor?
Oil temp sensor
- Thread starter Sam McDowell
- Start date
Dwight
RCR GT 40 Gulf Livery 347 Eight Stack injection
I had mine in the top of a Canton oil pan for a year. I moved it to one of the ports in a remote oil adapter. Now my oil temp reads 30 degrees F higher. I think when I had it in the oil pan it did not stay submerged in oil, thus the cooler reading.
Dwight
Dwight
I had a similar experience in my race car. The difference is that the oil in the pan is likely cooler than the oil in the galleys higher up. When people say "my oil temp is xxx degrees" I always wonder where it is being measured, as that has a great impact on what the oil reads.
Another way to think of this: it is clear the oil temp is different going into an oil cooler than coming out, yet many people still think of fluid temps as a monolithic number, when in fact, the temps vary, depending where in the engine or cooling circuit they are measured.
If you put it in the pan, you need to put it in the bottom of the pan. I've seen it when in the top of the pan, that the temperature is inconsistent and shows a lot of heat that really belongs to Blow-By gasses in the crankcase.
I personally like to have the temp gauge on the output side of the oil cooler where I can tell what the temp of the oil is that I'm feeding the bearings..
I personally like to have the temp gauge on the output side of the oil cooler where I can tell what the temp of the oil is that I'm feeding the bearings..
In most situations the important info you need is what temperature the oil is going back into the engine at.
When you are setting up a race engine, this will be the one you want to know about as if it is too low then you will be wasting horsepower. - Bad Karma !!!
I found the the easiest place to mount it was in the filter. My combo was pump - cooler - filter which I figured was the best as you then made sure any crap that may have been in the filter got taken out by the filter. Seems to me that no matter how careful you are there is always some little piece of dust or lint somewhere in the system so the filter should be last.
In saying that, it is also a good idea to check you are not toasting your oil past it useful temp range - but this is seldom the case.
In playing with engines on the dyno close to 100 deg C or equivalent in F is good. Your oil is actually working (lubricating and detergents working properly) and also no significant HP gain beyond this. A further benefit is it keeps any water or other condensate out of your oil (this includes Methanol)
If you head down this track be aware that push lock hoses are not for this temperature range - I found this out the hard way !!!! Very messy but luckily did not damage the engine. Imagine a 351 sitting on 6500 RPM in a jet-boat and an oil hose letting go. Best part of the 8 litres of oil was in the bilge before you could say Jack Robinson.
KB
:shocked:
When you are setting up a race engine, this will be the one you want to know about as if it is too low then you will be wasting horsepower. - Bad Karma !!!
I found the the easiest place to mount it was in the filter. My combo was pump - cooler - filter which I figured was the best as you then made sure any crap that may have been in the filter got taken out by the filter. Seems to me that no matter how careful you are there is always some little piece of dust or lint somewhere in the system so the filter should be last.
In saying that, it is also a good idea to check you are not toasting your oil past it useful temp range - but this is seldom the case.
In playing with engines on the dyno close to 100 deg C or equivalent in F is good. Your oil is actually working (lubricating and detergents working properly) and also no significant HP gain beyond this. A further benefit is it keeps any water or other condensate out of your oil (this includes Methanol)
If you head down this track be aware that push lock hoses are not for this temperature range - I found this out the hard way !!!! Very messy but luckily did not damage the engine. Imagine a 351 sitting on 6500 RPM in a jet-boat and an oil hose letting go. Best part of the 8 litres of oil was in the bilge before you could say Jack Robinson.
KB
:shocked:
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Brett James-McCall
Moderator
So if you only have a Canton pan, and you only have a filter adaptor with a thermostatic switch in it. Where would you put the sender?
Terry Oxandale
Skinny Man
My intent is to place two senders, one at the expected highest, and one at the expected lowest temperature locations, and use a switch that allows me to view either (but not both at the same time).
Brett James-McCall
Moderator
Terry,
So in a basic standard set-up, my question is still where on a 'standard-ish' 302.
Canton sump, or use a oil plug in the block, if so where?
Brett
So in a basic standard set-up, my question is still where on a 'standard-ish' 302.
Canton sump, or use a oil plug in the block, if so where?
Brett
Brett
The right place to put it would be in the return side of your thermostatic oil filter adaptor.
Presumably this is not an easy place to attach it, so you have the following options:
1 Evaluate the possibility of drilling and tapping you adpator to take a temp sensor. May not be that easy, but this will actually tell what is going back into your engine
2 Put a tee in the return line from you oil cooler and hope the thermostatic elememt is doing its job right. When the bypass to to cooler is open you should get good readings. When it it not bypassing through the cooler you will get some thermal coupling but it won't be as good as option 1
KB
The right place to put it would be in the return side of your thermostatic oil filter adaptor.
Presumably this is not an easy place to attach it, so you have the following options:
1 Evaluate the possibility of drilling and tapping you adpator to take a temp sensor. May not be that easy, but this will actually tell what is going back into your engine
2 Put a tee in the return line from you oil cooler and hope the thermostatic elememt is doing its job right. When the bypass to to cooler is open you should get good readings. When it it not bypassing through the cooler you will get some thermal coupling but it won't be as good as option 1
KB
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Seymour Snerd
Lifetime Supporter
Suggestions:
I recently discovered this convenient piece by XRP, part number 987810 for 10AN, 987812 for 12AN. Might allow you to sneak in a temp sensor without re-plumbing. It's expensive though, ~$70.
Another much cheaper possibility is a "female on the run" (no wisecracks) Tee like Aeroquip FCM2258: cap off the unused side branch, and tap/drill for whatever fitting you want. Of course you need to avoid impeding the flow of oil. An alternative would be to somehow attach the sensor to the side branch.
And then finally, the way I solved this problem: Transdapt 1045 mount for my oil filter, which has two 1/2" NPT ports in each direction.
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Brett James-McCall
Moderator
Thanks all, after some deliberation, I think I am going to use one of these: Think Automotive Ltd Oil temperature gauge adapters
Seymour Snerd
Lifetime Supporter
Let me qualify my recommendation of the Transdapt 1045 part: I discovered after designing and implementing a whole oil flow layout that the adjacent 1/2" NPT holes are too close together for a pair of 12AN fittings. My fault for not checking, of course. So, keep that in mind if you are going to put your input and output on the same side of the filter adapter.
Chuck -- I was looking for the Canton 5065, and think the Canton number is actually 22-625. Beautiful part.
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Opps. I think you are right. Or they changed the number. In which case you are still right.
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