Just thought I would post this for anyone who doesnt know but I
checked my temps today on my engine with a heat gun and noticed that the intake temp was 200 degrees but the gauge said 220+. Then I noticed the sensor that tells the gauge what to read was in between two of the header tubes. The temp there was 220 degrees or better which would explain why the gauge was reading 220... The header temp was about 600+ as well near the sensor. I had been running a little hotter than normal because of a leaky heater core. Lost some pressure in the rad which made it run hotter. So, if you have headers and you seem to be running hotter it could be the gauge is giving a false reading because of the heat. Something to think about.

 

i didnt see a big change on mine, maybe because they are coated i dont know....

so u think it worth it to maybe use some type of header wrap on the temp sender?

 

I was told not to. Not sure if it can be moved though. Do you think it would be ok to have the sensor going into the intake instead of the block? I have hooker super comp shorties that are uncoated.

 

thats a great discovery. I'l have to look into mine as well.

 

Just about every other temp sensor I've seen is mounted in the intake.
Should work fine there. Headers shouldn't really affect the readings since the probe is in the coolant and the outer shell shouldn't get any hotter than the head casting.

 

I have also used the heat gun method of reading the temps. I had my gauge sender in the waterneck. The gauge inside the car read 220º, the heat gun read 201º. I was thinking about replacing the sender, but sicne I have rigged my fan to constant 'on', the temps never get over 170-180º with a 180º thermostat. So now the sender is consistant with the heat gun. Weird, to think that it would be accurate at 180º, and then get wacky at higher temps, huh?

 

maybe it shouldnt but it does. The header temp at the sensor is 600 degrees. It may cool down there when driving. Its still very hot.

 

It's probably more an issue of having the temp probe stuck in the water jacket right next to the exhaust ports than reflected heat from the pipes.

 

Its quite possible...