Oil temp sender for VX

[ian balson]

Hopefully a simple question for you VX people out there!

 

I'd like to be able to monitor my oil temp. Where/how would I fit the sender on the engine? It's a std VX on carbs with a wet sump.

 

Can I use the water temp gauge and switch between oil and water?

 

Thanks

Ian.

 

 

[Chelspeed]

If you buy another Vauxhall water temp sender then yes you can use the same gauge and a changeover switch.

 

But where to put the sender to read the temperature? If you have an oil cooler then you can buy an adaptor to fit in the pipe to the oil cooler. If you don't have an oil cooler then it's hard.

 

The sumps very shallow so I'd be surprised if there's enough beef to drill and tap it anywhere that would be under the oil level. You can't tee it into the oil pressure sample point as there's no flow so it won't see the temperature. You could drill and tap the drain plug but you'd need a much smaller sender and I'm not sure if these are available to match the electrics of the gauge.

 

Assuming that you're measuring temp to see if you need a cooler or not then you could bite the bullet and fit the oil cooler sandwich plate and just connect the two through a temp sender adaptor without the cooler. If it says you need a cooler then you've got half the hardware, if not then you can either leave it on or take it off again.

 

Or you could borrow my bit of kit, sandwich plate, pipe, adaptor, just sitting unused in the garage. The adaptor is for the big capillary sender so you'd need an adaptor, 5/8 unf to vauxhall metric sender thread.

[Monsieur Arnee du Lard]

Whoops

 

 

 

Au revoir vous Anglais.....

 

Monsieur Arnee du Lard

 

 

Edited by - Monsieur Arnee Du Lard on 4 Oct 2001 12:40:09

[EFA]

I think the easiest way is to install a length of aeuoquipe hose from where the current pressure sender sits and fit a T piece on the end to which you could re-attach the sender for pressure, and fit a temp sender.

 

You can switch the water temp gauge without problem.

 

Keep the aeroquip short, and allow a few degrees extra for the cooling of the line.

 

Better still, you can probably get soem uniions which allow you to squeeze everything in where the presure sender resides now.

 

Graham, my only other idea is: Could you not drill and tap the front cover and measure the oil temp direct form the oil gallery?

 

Fat Arn

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[Chelspeed]

> I think the easiest way is to install a length of aeuoquipe

> hose from where the current pressure sender sits and fit a T

> piece on the end to which you could re-attach the sender for

> pressure, and fit a temp sender.

 

I really don't think this would work. The oil in this bit of pipe would not be at the temperature of the oil in the engine it would sit at the normal sort of engine block / engine bay air temp in that area. To measure oil temp you actually need to have the sender sitting in the main oil flow.

 

Drilling and tapping the front cover is a thought though. I don't think there is enough beef in the casting itself to take the sender. But there is a big brass blanking plug on the intake side, opposite the blanking plug over the relief valve. You could replace this blanking plug with the sender or with a threaded adaptor to take the sender.