OK boys I'm getting this thing figured out. Both fans are working, all wiring is back to stock. I tell ya, if you don't know what you're doing with wiring...DON"T DO IT!!! I'm suprised this car didn't burn with the way this jackass did things. Enough of me ranting.

The only thing I have left to repair is the temp sender. (for the guage not the ECM) The wire is located, picked up a sender and it works when grounded and heated. Only problem is, the plug in the side of the head is NOT coming out to accept the sender. Thus my question. Is there anywhere else I can put it. I assume there is a similar plug in the rear of the passenger head, but it would be rather difficult to get to that one. I was thinking a different T-stat housing with a boss. Any ideas?

 

Only problem would be finding one of the extended neck thermostat housings that our TPI systems use...

You could upgrade to Speed Density and remove the 9th injector and use the port that the cold start injector sensor uses. That might be a little too much work for just the temp sensor though... Here's another idea I just came up with though... There is another coolant drain plug on the driver's side just above the oil pan gasket in about the middle of the block (the same spot on the passenger side is occupied by the knock sensor). You could use that (heck, I think it's 3/8" NPT, and if I remember correctly, thats the same size as the coolant temp gauge sender) and the wiring might even be able to reach without modification.

 

Thanks Thirdgen88, I'll have a look. I wonder what the difference in temp would be between that location and the head. Guess it really dosen't matter for the guage.

 

Ok, I've just gotten into this with my car. Mine is TBI, so forgive me if it is not exactly the same scenario. The plug in the pass head was rounded out, so I could not install my coolant fan switch in there, so I took out the gauge sender from the driver's side head and put the fan switch there.
I had an old thermostat housing from a carbed Monte, so I installed that, and put the gauge sender in there. The gauge reads fine with it in the thermo housing. (Although I had first thought that the gauge would be off because that is where the cold coolant comes into the intake, from the radiator.
I am not at all familiar with TPI, so I'm not sure if you could use the same housing or not.

 

Well, coolant doesn't come in there.. Once the engine heats up, it exits there (intake is the lower hose to the water pump). It might read low until the engine reaches operating temperature with it in that location.

 

What year Monte Carlo? I'd like to find that housing

 

any 82-85 third gen v8 should have it, and 85, 86 monte carlo v-8's

 

Well, the drain plug in the block was a smaller thread, and for the life of me, I couldn't get the plug out of the rear of the passenger head......so I bought a 1" cast iron 'tee', threaded two barbed adapters in the ends and a reducer to accept the sender in the top hole. I cut the rubber hose and placed it inline. Unfortunately it is in the return line from the heater core for now, so it dosen't read until the stat opens. But at least it will read. Once the car passes emmisions I will bypass the throttle body and put it inline from the intake to get a quicker, more accurate reading. But it does work!