Does anyone make either an integral or an adaptor to mount an oil temp. sensor in a 60's vintage sbc? I don't want to take the pan off, I would have to lift the engine out etc. I've tried finding a correct thread fitting that is drilled and threaded for a conventional 1/8" npt sender but no luck (with what I have). I have a SW temp. gauge that is 280 deg. and the sender I have is also 280 deg.
It won’t give you an accurate reading, It would tell you the lowest trmp of oil due to stratification and air cooling. Much of the oil would be significantly hotter.
@31Vicky with a hemi is there enough oil flow in the front of the engine to use the bolt that holds the fuel pump rod during pump R&R?
Mmm, while what you say is mostly correct, the word "significantly" is pretty strong. I'd agree more to the words a "little" hotter. It also depends on where else you might take it from. There are few pressure locations large enough for the sender diameter. Plus...it really doesn't matter WHERE you measure the temperature from..! It will always be from the same location, therefore, 240° is 240°. If there is a problem...and the temperature all of a sudden, that 240° climbs to 280°, there may be a problem...right..! In any case, yes, putting a temp. location just below the "running," oil level in the pan, near the rear of the pan sump (that air cooling thing mentioned!), should work just fine. JUST like automatic transmission temperature fittings...where are they...the oil pan..! Mike
the drain plug is 1/2-20, a thread who's minor diameter is just a skosh larger than the major diameter of 1/8" pipe thread. So it's not really possible to make an adapter to fit the sender into the drain plug. I recall at some time in the past we've discussed installing a temp sender in an oil pan, without removing the pan...how hard did you search?
Just thinking out loud but could you put a tee in the oil pressure sender hole and run oil pressure and oil temperature from the same location.
Uhh normal oil temp should be 250F range and lasts a long time there,,, Oil breaks down at temps of 275f. The difference between 250 and 275 is both significant and just slightly warmer. Parse it all you want. A temp sender in the bottom of a 5 qt pan isn’t going to alert you to a problem until it’s way to late. The engine could be returning 300f oil into a 5 qt pan for quite some time until the heat rises principal’s get the bottom of the pan above 250. I’m guessing you’ll know there’s an obvious problem way before the temp gauge says so. More of conformation you’ve arrived at destination “fucked”
Hmm? I've never burned my hand dropping oil on a hot engine. I sure ass hell have burned my hand when draining coolant. Therefore I think a water temp gauge would be all that most of us will ever really need.
I did engine durability and development testing and we used a thermocouple in the oil drain plug for our oil temp reading. We tested with oil temp between 240 and 280 f.
maybe you could install a pump in the engine, to pick up oil that's near the bottom of the pan, and have that cool oil circulate through the engine, get warmed up, and drop back onto the top of the oil. Might even be able to put a spinning thing in there somewhere, that would spray oil all over the place, as the engine runs.
I sniffed around the interwebs to see if there was any reliable data regarding oil flow in an SBC at 3000 RPM, and the numbers varied from 7 GPM all the way up to 18+ GPM. Using the lower number, and assuming there is at least a quart of oil doing it's thing in the area above the oil pan, (and more likely a couple when we include the oil filter) leaves us with a gallon or less in the pan. 7 GPM flow means the oil in the pan is replaced a maximum of every 8.6 seconds. Let's also consider that the oil pickup is (should be) sucking oil very near the bottom of the pan, not giving the oil much time to sit there and cool. Do you really think there will be much temperature stratification in the oil pan given these conditions? Certainly the oil draining back from the top end and being flung off the crankshaft and bottom of the pistons will be the hottest, but how do you monitor those temperatures?
@BamaMav ^^NOT^^ Sure you could put one there, but it would be nearly useless as there is very little oil circulation at that point in the engine. That's probably one of the worst places to get any kind of an accurate reading, and changes in temperature would take a long time to register.
I'm a truck driver. In my truck the oil temp sending unit is in the oil pan, half way down from the block to the bottom of the sump in the sump. Oil usually runs 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the coolant temp. Probably comparing apple to oranges.
I'm just curious why you feel you need to know the engine oil temp? Are you experiencing oil problems ? Lippy
Mostly because I'm just curious. Anyway, I've now decided to abandon the idea........................
Could you install a remote oil cooler adapter with just a tubing loop attached with a fitting for the temp sensor in the loop ?
I was told a story years ago about a race car driver that kept loosing. He was a gauge watcher. The team mechanic had enough of it and taped over all the gauges. He won the next race.
When race car drivers become car owners , they drive like their wallet's between their foot & the gas pedal ....,.IIRC it was Buddy Baker said that ...
But come to think of it I went to a hospital to see my friend and they checked my temp with a gun and said I had a 104 temp. Then the nurse took her own temp and it said 104. Better get two guns. LOL
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